Davis Selected Advisers Lowers Position in AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB)

Davis Selected Advisers lessened its position in AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB) by 0.7% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 56,220 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 390 shares during the quarter. Davis Selected Advisers’ holdings in AvalonBay Communities were worth $12,367,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Candriam S.C.A. lifted its stake in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Candriam S.C.A. now owns 19,972 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $4,393,000 after purchasing an additional 175 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in shares of AvalonBay Communities in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $35,153,000. Arizona State Retirement System lifted its stake in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 41,307 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $9,086,000 after purchasing an additional 571 shares during the period. Proficio Capital Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of AvalonBay Communities in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $23,513,000. Finally, Assetmark Inc. lifted its stake in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 5.7% in the 4th quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 17,244 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $3,793,000 after purchasing an additional 936 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.61% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Morgan Stanley lowered 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 research report on Friday, January 24th. Barclays reduced their target price on AvalonBay Communities from $230.00 to $226.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Scotiabank reduced their target price on AvalonBay Communities from $244.00 to $241.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, November 14th. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on AvalonBay Communities from $230.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised AvalonBay Communities from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $247.00 to $262.00 in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $238.64.

AvalonBay Communities Stock Performance

AVB stock opened at $218.45 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $31.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.11 and a beta of 1.00. AvalonBay Communities, Inc. has a 1 year low of $177.40 and a 1 year high of $239.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 1.64 and a quick ratio of 1.64. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $218.81 and its 200-day moving average price is $223.64.

AvalonBay Communities (NYSE:AVB) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The real estate investment trust reported $2.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.83 by ($0.03). AvalonBay Communities had a return on equity of 9.15% and a net margin of 37.13%. On average, equities analysts forecast that AvalonBay Communities, Inc. will post 11.48 earnings per share for the current 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 3.20%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. AvalonBay Communities’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 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.