AvalonBay Communities, Inc. $AVB Shares Bought by Bank of America Corp DE

Key Points

• Bank of America increased its AvalonBay Communities stake by 10.8% in the first quarter, adding 215,559 shares to own 2.20 million shares valued at approximately $360.1 million. Institutional investors collectively own 92.61% of the REIT.
• Analysts maintain a broadly cautious outlook, with a consensus “Hold” rating and an average price target of $196.80, compared with the reported share price of $185.82.
• AvalonBay missed quarterly earnings expectations, reporting $1.11 in EPS versus the $1.23 consensus, although revenue of $777.77 million exceeded estimates. The company paid a quarterly dividend of $1.78 per share, representing a 3.8% annualized yield.

Bank of America Corp DE raised its position in shares of AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB - Free Report) by 10.8% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 2,204,314 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after purchasing an additional 215,559 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE owned 1.58% of AvalonBay Communities worth $360,075,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Clearstead Trust LLC increased its holdings in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 56.0% during the 1st quarter. Clearstead Trust LLC now owns 156 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 56 shares during the last quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. lifted its holdings in AvalonBay Communities by 1.8% in the 3rd quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 3,358 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $649,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares during the last quarter. Keybank National Association OH lifted its holdings in AvalonBay Communities by 2.6% in the 4th quarter. Keybank National Association OH now owns 2,458 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $446,000 after purchasing an additional 62 shares during the last quarter. Arbor Capital Management Inc. ADV boosted its position in AvalonBay Communities by 1.4% during the first quarter. Arbor Capital Management Inc. ADV now owns 6,540 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $1,090,000 after purchasing an additional 90 shares during the period. Finally, Phoenix Financial Ltd. grew its holdings in AvalonBay Communities by 5.7% during the fourth quarter. Phoenix Financial Ltd. now owns 1,713 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $311,000 after purchasing an additional 92 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.61% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently issued reports on AVB. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $193.00 to $191.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 23rd. UBS Group decreased their price target on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $191.00 to $189.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 14th. Cantor Fitzgerald raised their price target on AvalonBay Communities from $186.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, May 4th. Barclays reiterated an "equal weight" rating and issued a $205.00 price objective (up from $203.00) on shares of AvalonBay Communities in a research note on Tuesday, July 14th. Finally, Wolfe Research raised AvalonBay Communities from an "outperform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $209.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Monday, June 1st. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and fifteen have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $196.80.

AvalonBay Communities Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:AVB opened at $185.82 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74, a current ratio of 0.54 and a quick ratio of 0.54. The business's fifty day moving average price is $187.85 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $179.71. AvalonBay Communities, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $160.10 and a fifty-two week high of $198.63. The stock has a market capitalization of $26.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.22 and a beta of 0.76.

AvalonBay Communities (NYSE:AVB - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 23rd. The real estate investment trust reported $1.11 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.23 by ($0.12). AvalonBay Communities had a return on equity of 8.58% and a net margin of 33.33%.The firm had revenue of $777.77 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $772.37 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $2.82 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that AvalonBay Communities, Inc. will post 11.31 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AvalonBay Communities Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 30th were paid a dividend of $1.78 per share. This represents a $7.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, June 30th. AvalonBay Communities's payout ratio is 116.34%.

AvalonBay Communities Company Profile

AvalonBay Communities, Inc NYSE: AVB is a publicly traded real estate investment trust (REIT) that owns, develops, redevelops and manages multifamily residential properties. The company focuses on professionally managed apartment communities, offering a range of rental housing options and related resident services. As a REIT, AvalonBay's core activities center on the acquisition and development of apartment assets and the ongoing operations and leasing of those communities.

AvalonBay's operating activities include ground-up development, strategic redevelopment of existing properties, property and asset management, and on-site leasing and resident services.

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