Contravisory Investment Management Inc. Makes New Investment in AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB)

Contravisory Investment Management Inc. acquired a new stake in AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 36,268 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock, valued at approximately $7,978,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its holdings in AvalonBay Communities by 1.4% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 4,060,497 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $914,627,000 after purchasing an additional 55,588 shares during the period. American Assets Capital Advisers LLC acquired a new stake in AvalonBay Communities during the third quarter worth about $1,014,000. 1832 Asset Management L.P. lifted its position in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 5.6% in the 2nd quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. now owns 63,174 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $13,070,000 after acquiring an additional 3,350 shares during the period. West Oak Capital LLC boosted its position in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 875.3% during the 4th quarter. West Oak Capital LLC now owns 15,800 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $356,000 after acquiring an additional 14,180 shares in the last quarter. Finally, KBC Group NV lifted its stake in AvalonBay Communities by 284.8% during the third quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 146,429 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $32,983,000 after purchasing an additional 108,371 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.61% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at AvalonBay Communities

In related news, Director Timothy J. Naughton sold 2,261 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $233.78, for a total value of $528,576.58. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 111,436 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $26,051,508.08. This represents a 1.99 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 0.42% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently commented on AVB. Scotiabank cut their target price on AvalonBay Communities from $244.00 to $241.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, November 14th. Mizuho upgraded shares of AvalonBay Communities from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $239.00 to $242.00 in a research note on Monday, January 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of 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. Barclays initiated coverage on shares of AvalonBay Communities in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $243.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reduced their target price on AvalonBay Communities from $234.00 to $233.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $234.53.

AvalonBay Communities Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:AVB opened at $216.82 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $30.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.66, a P/E/G ratio of 3.30 and a beta of 0.99. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $225.15 and its 200 day simple moving average is $220.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a current ratio of 1.64 and a quick ratio of 1.64. AvalonBay Communities, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $169.37 and a fifty-two week high of $239.29.

AvalonBay Communities (NYSE:AVB) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The real estate investment trust reported $2.61 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.71 by ($0.10). The firm had revenue of $734.31 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $731.67 million. AvalonBay Communities had a net margin of 36.20% and a return on equity of 8.84%. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.66 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that AvalonBay Communities, Inc. will post 11.03 earnings per share for the current year.

AvalonBay Communities Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st were issued a $1.70 dividend. This represents a $6.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.14%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, December 31st. AvalonBay Communities’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 93.02%.

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.