Metis Global Partners LLC Increases Stock Holdings in AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB)

Metis Global Partners LLC boosted its holdings in AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB) by 7.9% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 28,975 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,115 shares during the period. Metis Global Partners LLC’s holdings in AvalonBay Communities were worth $6,374,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in AVB. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 4.6% during the 3rd quarter. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,244 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $280,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares during the period. Wedmont Private Capital lifted its stake in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 5.3% in the 4th quarter. Wedmont Private Capital now owns 1,094 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $231,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares during the period. MAI Capital Management raised its stake in AvalonBay Communities by 1.7% during the third quarter. MAI Capital Management now owns 3,633 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $818,000 after buying an additional 60 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A. raised its stake in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 3.1% in the third quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A. now owns 2,015 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $454,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Private Advisor Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 2.6% in the fourth quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 2,512 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $553,000 after acquiring an additional 63 shares during the period. 92.61% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the company. Scotiabank lowered their price objective 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. Zelman & Associates raised AvalonBay Communities from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Piper Sandler decreased their price objective on AvalonBay Communities from $270.00 to $265.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Mizuho upgraded AvalonBay Communities from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $239.00 to $242.00 in a report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Barclays reduced their target price on AvalonBay Communities from $230.00 to $226.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Seven 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 an average target price of $238.64.

AvalonBay Communities Trading Up 1.4 %

NYSE AVB opened at $226.17 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $32.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.80, a P/E/G ratio of 3.11 and a beta of 1.00. AvalonBay Communities, Inc. has a 52-week low of $174.46 and a 52-week high of $239.29. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $218.79 and a 200 day moving average price of $223.35. The company has a quick ratio of 1.64, a current ratio of 1.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68.

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

AvalonBay Communities Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be given a dividend of $1.75 per share. This is a positive change from AvalonBay Communities’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.70. This represents a $7.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.10%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. AvalonBay Communities’s dividend payout ratio is presently 92.23%.

About AvalonBay Communities

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.