AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB) Shares Acquired by ProShare Advisors LLC

ProShare Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB - Free Report) by 6.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 33,033 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after acquiring an additional 2,034 shares during the period. ProShare Advisors LLC's holdings in AvalonBay Communities were worth $7,266,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Ancora Advisors LLC raised its position in AvalonBay Communities by 1,666.7% in the fourth quarter. Ancora Advisors LLC now owns 159 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 150 shares during the period. Whipplewood Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of AvalonBay Communities during the 4th quarter worth about $36,000. Crowley Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new stake in AvalonBay Communities in the 4th quarter valued at about $44,000. CoreCap Advisors LLC lifted its position in AvalonBay Communities by 58.9% in the fourth quarter. CoreCap Advisors LLC now owns 251 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $55,000 after buying an additional 93 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Generali Asset Management SPA SGR acquired a new position in AvalonBay Communities in the fourth quarter valued at about $66,000. 92.61% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have weighed in on AVB. BMO Capital Markets cut shares of AvalonBay Communities from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating and set a $220.00 price target for the company. in a research report on Friday, April 4th. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their target price on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $223.00 to $220.00 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 8th. Evercore ISI boosted their target price 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. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on AvalonBay Communities from $226.00 to $228.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 15th. Finally, Barclays lifted their price objective on AvalonBay Communities from $227.00 to $240.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday, May 9th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, AvalonBay Communities presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $239.93.

AvalonBay Communities Stock Down 1.0%

NYSE AVB traded down $1.99 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $199.75. 902,767 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 707,678. The company has a quick ratio of 1.64, a current ratio of 1.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68. The firm has a market cap of $28.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.32, a PEG ratio of 3.11 and a beta of 0.86. The company has a 50 day moving average of $205.57 and a two-hundred day moving average of $216.47. AvalonBay Communities, Inc. has a 52-week low of $180.40 and a 52-week high of $239.29.

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 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.80 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $693.43 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $744.61 million. AvalonBay Communities had a return on equity of 9.15% and a net margin of 37.13%. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.70 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that AvalonBay Communities, Inc. will post 11.48 earnings per share for the current year.

AvalonBay Communities Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 30th will be issued a $1.75 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 30th. This represents a $7.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.50%. AvalonBay Communities's payout ratio is 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.