Czech National Bank Boosts Position in AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB)

Czech National Bank grew its stake in shares of AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB) by 6.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 30,800 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after buying an additional 1,868 shares during the period. Czech National Bank’s holdings in AvalonBay Communities were worth $6,775,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of AVB. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its holdings in AvalonBay Communities by 1.4% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 4,060,497 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $914,627,000 after acquiring an additional 55,588 shares during the period. American Assets Capital Advisers LLC bought a new position in shares of AvalonBay Communities in the third quarter worth $1,014,000. 1832 Asset Management L.P. raised its position in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 5.6% in the second quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. now owns 63,174 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $13,070,000 after buying an additional 3,350 shares in the last quarter. West Oak Capital LLC boosted its stake in AvalonBay Communities by 875.3% during the fourth quarter. West Oak Capital LLC now owns 15,800 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $356,000 after buying an additional 14,180 shares during the period. Finally, KBC Group NV grew its position 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 buying an additional 108,371 shares in the last quarter. 92.61% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at AvalonBay Communities

In other news, Director Timothy J. Naughton sold 2,261 shares of AvalonBay Communities stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $233.78, for a total value of $528,576.58. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 111,436 shares in the company, valued at approximately $26,051,508.08. This trade represents a 1.99 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.42% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have weighed in on AVB shares. Scotiabank lowered their price target on AvalonBay Communities from $244.00 to $241.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, November 14th. Mizuho raised shares of AvalonBay Communities from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $239.00 to $242.00 in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price objective on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $234.00 to $233.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of AvalonBay Communities from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $247.00 to $262.00 in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. Finally, Barclays initiated coverage on AvalonBay Communities in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $243.00 price target on the stock. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $234.53.

AvalonBay Communities Stock Performance

Shares of AVB stock opened at $218.28 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $31.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.86, a PEG ratio of 3.30 and a beta of 0.99. AvalonBay Communities, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $169.37 and a fifty-two week high of $239.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a quick ratio of 1.64 and a current ratio of 1.64. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $225.15 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $220.50.

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

AvalonBay Communities Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be paid a $1.70 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 31st. This represents a $6.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.12%. AvalonBay Communities’s payout ratio is presently 93.02%.

AvalonBay Communities Company 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.