Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank Grows Position in AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB)

Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank grew its stake in shares of AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB) by 27.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 118,708 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after purchasing an additional 25,922 shares during the period. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank owned approximately 0.08% of AvalonBay Communities worth $26,112,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. boosted its holdings in AvalonBay Communities by 29.6% during the fourth quarter. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. now owns 1,260 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $277,000 after buying an additional 288 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its position in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 1.4% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 4,060,497 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $914,627,000 after acquiring an additional 55,588 shares during the period. American Assets Capital Advisers LLC purchased a new stake in shares of AvalonBay Communities during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $1,014,000. West Oak Capital LLC grew its holdings in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 875.3% in the 4th quarter. West Oak Capital LLC now owns 15,800 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $356,000 after acquiring an additional 14,180 shares during the period. Finally, Portfolio Design Labs LLC grew its holdings in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 27.0% in the 4th quarter. Portfolio Design Labs LLC now owns 22,356 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $4,918,000 after acquiring an additional 4,747 shares during the period. 92.61% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have commented on the company. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on AvalonBay Communities from $230.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Scotiabank decreased their price objective on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $244.00 to $241.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, November 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of AvalonBay Communities from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their target price for the company from $247.00 to $262.00 in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. Truist Financial upped their price target on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $229.00 to $230.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Monday. Finally, Piper Sandler dropped their price objective on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $270.00 to $265.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $238.64.

AvalonBay Communities Stock Performance

NYSE AVB opened at $213.30 on Wednesday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $218.61 and its 200-day simple moving average is $223.66. The firm has a market capitalization of $30.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.10, a P/E/G 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.

AvalonBay Communities (NYSE:AVB) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The real estate investment trust reported $2.80 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.83 by ($0.03). AvalonBay Communities had a net margin of 37.13% and a return on equity of 9.15%. Equities analysts predict that AvalonBay Communities, Inc. will post 11.48 EPS for the current year.

AvalonBay Communities Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st will be issued a $1.75 dividend. This is an increase from AvalonBay Communities’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.70. This represents a $7.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.28%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. AvalonBay Communities’s dividend payout ratio is currently 92.23%.

AvalonBay Communities 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.