RWA Wealth Partners LLC Grows Stock Position in AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB)

RWA Wealth Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB) by 7.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 22,418 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,634 shares during the quarter. RWA Wealth Partners LLC’s holdings in AvalonBay Communities were worth $4,931,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AVB. Whipplewood Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of AvalonBay Communities during the 4th quarter worth $36,000. Crowley Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new position in AvalonBay Communities in the fourth quarter valued at about $44,000. Generali Asset Management SPA SGR purchased a new position in AvalonBay Communities during the fourth quarter worth about $66,000. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 312.5% during the fourth quarter. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC now owns 363 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $80,000 after acquiring an additional 275 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Loomis Sayles & Co. L P raised its stake in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 42.6% in the 4th quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P now owns 442 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $97,000 after acquiring an additional 132 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.61% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on AVB shares. Morgan Stanley cut shares of AvalonBay Communities from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and lowered their price objective for the stock from $236.00 to $223.00 in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Zelman & Associates raised AvalonBay Communities from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Mizuho raised AvalonBay Communities from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $239.00 to $242.00 in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Piper Sandler dropped their target price on AvalonBay Communities from $270.00 to $265.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, Evercore ISI increased their price target on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $230.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $238.64.

AvalonBay Communities Trading Up 0.2 %

Shares of AvalonBay Communities stock opened at $213.50 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 1.64, a quick ratio of 1.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $217.50 and a 200-day simple moving average of $222.39. The stock has a market cap of $30.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.13, a PEG ratio of 3.11 and a beta of 1.00. AvalonBay Communities, Inc. has a 12-month low of $177.40 and a 12-month high of $239.29.

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

AvalonBay Communities Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be paid a $1.75 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $7.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.28%. This is a boost from AvalonBay Communities’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.70. AvalonBay Communities’s payout ratio is currently 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.