Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC Raises Holdings in AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB)

Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB) by 312.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 363 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after acquiring an additional 275 shares during the quarter. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC’s holdings in AvalonBay Communities were worth $80,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in AvalonBay Communities by 2.2% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 9,245,028 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $2,097,971,000 after acquiring an additional 196,938 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its position in AvalonBay Communities by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 4,590,539 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $1,009,781,000 after purchasing an additional 27,629 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its position 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 valued at $914,627,000 after purchasing an additional 55,588 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in AvalonBay Communities by 0.8% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,585,802 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $805,113,000 after purchasing an additional 27,988 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in AvalonBay Communities by 3.6% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,240,436 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $504,658,000 after purchasing an additional 78,800 shares during the last quarter. 92.61% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have commented on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised AvalonBay Communities from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price target for the company from $247.00 to $262.00 in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. Mizuho raised AvalonBay Communities from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price target for the company from $239.00 to $242.00 in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Evercore ISI upped their price target on AvalonBay Communities from $230.00 to $240.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target 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. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered AvalonBay Communities from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $236.00 to $223.00 in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $235.73.

AvalonBay Communities Stock Performance

Shares of AVB opened at $217.94 on Wednesday. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $219.40 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $222.76. The company has a current ratio of 1.64, a quick ratio of 1.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68. AvalonBay Communities, Inc. has a 12 month low of $172.85 and a 12 month high of $239.29. The company has a market cap of $31.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.71, a P/E/G ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 0.99.

AvalonBay Communities (NYSE:AVB) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The real estate investment trust reported $2.80 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%. Research analysts anticipate that AvalonBay Communities, Inc. will post 11.53 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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 $1.75 dividend. This is an increase from AvalonBay Communities’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.70. This represents a $7.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.21%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. AvalonBay Communities’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 89.59%.

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.