HighTower Advisors LLC Has $4.88 Million Stock Holdings in AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB)

HighTower Advisors LLC reduced its position in shares of AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB) by 0.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 22,204 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 66 shares during the quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC’s holdings in AvalonBay Communities were worth $4,884,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in AVB. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC acquired a new position in shares of AvalonBay Communities during the third quarter worth approximately $26,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC bought a new stake in AvalonBay Communities during the 4th quarter valued at $36,000. Brooklyn Investment Group acquired a new position in AvalonBay Communities during the third quarter worth $39,000. Prospera Private Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of AvalonBay Communities in the third quarter valued at $51,000. Finally, Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC grew its holdings 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 buying an additional 275 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.61% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Mizuho upgraded shares of AvalonBay Communities from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $239.00 to $242.00 in a report on Monday, January 6th. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on AvalonBay Communities from $230.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price 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. Barclays lowered their price target on AvalonBay Communities from $230.00 to $226.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Finally, Piper Sandler cut their price objective on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $270.00 to $265.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $238.64.

AvalonBay Communities Stock Performance

Shares of AVB stock opened at $210.66 on Thursday. 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 firm has a market cap of $29.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.75, a P/E/G ratio of 3.11 and a beta of 1.00. AvalonBay Communities, Inc. has a 52 week low of $177.40 and a 52 week high of $239.29. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $217.95 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $223.12.

AvalonBay Communities (NYSE:AVB) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The real estate investment trust reported $2.80 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 forecast that AvalonBay Communities, Inc. will post 11.48 earnings per share for the current year.

AvalonBay Communities Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be paid a dividend of $1.75 per share. This is an increase from AvalonBay Communities’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.70. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $7.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.32%. 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.