Boothbay Fund Management LLC Boosts Stock Position in AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB)

Boothbay Fund Management LLC lifted its position in shares of AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB - Free Report) by 14.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 17,907 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after buying an additional 2,296 shares during the quarter. Boothbay Fund Management LLC's holdings in AvalonBay Communities were worth $3,939,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Wedmont Private Capital grew its holdings in AvalonBay Communities by 5.3% in the fourth quarter. Wedmont Private Capital now owns 1,094 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $231,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares during the period. Signaturefd LLC grew its holdings in AvalonBay Communities by 4.0% in the fourth quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 1,616 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $356,000 after purchasing an additional 62 shares during the period. Private Advisor Group LLC grew its holdings in 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 purchasing an additional 63 shares during the period. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund grew its holdings in AvalonBay Communities by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 12,179 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $2,679,000 after purchasing an additional 69 shares during the period. Finally, Greenleaf Trust grew its holdings in AvalonBay Communities by 2.4% in the fourth quarter. Greenleaf Trust now owns 3,028 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $666,000 after purchasing an additional 70 shares during the period. 92.61% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the stock. Zelman & Associates upgraded shares of AvalonBay Communities from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $226.00 to $229.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. Morgan Stanley cut shares of AvalonBay Communities from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $236.00 to $223.00 in a report on Friday, January 24th. Mizuho upgraded shares of AvalonBay Communities from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $239.00 to $242.00 in a report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Truist Financial lifted their price objective on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $229.00 to $230.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, March 10th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $237.47.

AvalonBay Communities Stock Performance

AVB stock traded up $2.87 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $210.05. The company had a trading volume of 1,114,409 shares, compared to its average volume of 690,705. 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 $29.90 billion, a PE ratio of 27.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.11 and a beta of 0.86. AvalonBay Communities, Inc. has a 12 month low of $180.40 and a 12 month high of $239.29. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $209.36 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $218.43.

AvalonBay Communities (NYSE:AVB - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The real estate investment trust reported $2.83 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.81 by $0.02. AvalonBay Communities had a return on equity of 9.15% and a net margin of 37.13%. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $2.70 earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast that AvalonBay Communities, Inc. will post 11.48 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AvalonBay Communities Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st were given a dividend of $1.75 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 31st. This represents a $7.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.33%. This is an increase from AvalonBay Communities's previous quarterly dividend of $1.70. AvalonBay Communities's dividend 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.