OFI Invest Asset Management Invests $770,000 in AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB)

OFI Invest Asset Management acquired a new position in shares of AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 3,624 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock, valued at approximately $770,000.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC purchased a new position in shares of AvalonBay Communities in the 3rd quarter worth $26,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of AvalonBay Communities in the 4th quarter worth $36,000. Brooklyn Investment Group purchased a new position in shares of AvalonBay Communities in the 3rd quarter worth $39,000. Prospera Private Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of AvalonBay Communities in the 3rd quarter worth $51,000. Finally, Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 312.5% in the 4th quarter. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC now owns 363 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $80,000 after buying an additional 275 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.61% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AVB has been the topic of several research reports. Scotiabank cut their target price on AvalonBay Communities from $244.00 to $241.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, November 14th. Morgan Stanley lowered AvalonBay Communities from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and cut their target price for the stock from $236.00 to $223.00 in a research report on Friday, January 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised AvalonBay Communities from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $247.00 to $262.00 in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on AvalonBay Communities from $226.00 to $229.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Evercore ISI raised their price objective on AvalonBay Communities from $230.00 to $240.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $238.64.

AvalonBay Communities Stock Down 0.0 %

Shares of NYSE AVB opened at $218.45 on Monday. AvalonBay Communities, Inc. has a 1 year low of $177.40 and a 1 year high of $239.29. The firm has a market cap of $31.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.78, a PEG ratio of 3.11 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 1.64 and a current ratio of 1.64. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $218.81 and its 200-day simple moving average is $223.73.

AvalonBay Communities (NYSE:AVB) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The real estate investment trust reported $2.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.83 by ($0.03). AvalonBay Communities had a return on equity of 9.15% and a net margin of 37.13%. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that AvalonBay Communities, Inc. will post 11.48 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AvalonBay Communities Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st will be paid a $1.75 dividend. This represents a $7.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.20%. This is an increase from AvalonBay Communities’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.70. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. AvalonBay Communities’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 92.23%.

AvalonBay Communities Profile

AvalonBay Communities, Inc is a real estate investment trust, which engages in the development, acquisition, ownership, and operation of multifamily communities. It operates through the following segments: Same Store, Other Stabilized, and Development or Redevelopment. The Same Store segment refers to the operating communities that were owned and had stabilized occupancy.