Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. Acquires 5,275 Shares of AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB)

Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB - Free Report) by 2.1% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 251,593 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after purchasing an additional 5,275 shares during the period. Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. owned about 0.18% of AvalonBay Communities worth $53,997,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Ancora Advisors LLC increased its holdings in AvalonBay Communities by 1,666.7% during the 4th quarter. Ancora Advisors LLC now owns 159 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 150 shares in the last quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC bought a new position in AvalonBay Communities during the 4th quarter worth about $36,000. Crowley Wealth Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of AvalonBay Communities in the 4th quarter valued at about $44,000. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. bought a new position in shares of AvalonBay Communities in the 4th quarter valued at about $53,000. Finally, Continuum Advisory LLC grew its holdings in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 12,200.0% in the 4th quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC now owns 246 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $54,000 after acquiring an additional 244 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.61% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on AVB shares. BMO Capital Markets cut AvalonBay Communities from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating and set a $220.00 price objective for the company. in a report on Friday, April 4th. Truist Financial raised their target price on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $229.00 to $230.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, March 10th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of AvalonBay Communities from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Saturday, May 31st. Barclays raised their target price on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $227.00 to $240.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday, May 9th. Finally, Scotiabank raised their target price on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $241.00 to $251.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Monday, May 12th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $237.86.

AvalonBay Communities Stock Performance

AVB stock traded up $2.29 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $208.83. 587,632 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 726,394. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $203.41 and a 200-day simple moving average of $213.85. The company has a current ratio of 1.64, a quick ratio of 1.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68. The stock has a market capitalization of $29.73 billion, a PE ratio of 27.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.11 and a beta of 0.86. AvalonBay Communities, Inc. has a 1-year low of $180.40 and a 1-year high of $239.29.

AvalonBay Communities (NYSE:AVB - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The real estate investment trust reported $2.83 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.80 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $693.43 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $744.61 million. AvalonBay Communities had a net margin of 37.13% and a return on equity of 9.15%. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.70 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that AvalonBay Communities, Inc. will post 11.48 earnings per share for the current year.

AvalonBay Communities Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 30th will be issued a dividend of $1.75 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 30th. This represents a $7.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.35%. AvalonBay Communities's dividend payout ratio is presently 87.17%.

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.