Caxton Associates LLP Invests $1.49 Million in AvalonBay Communities, Inc. $AVB

Caxton Associates LLP purchased a new stake in AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB) during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 9,090 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock, valued at approximately $1,485,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Auto Owners Insurance Co lifted its stake in AvalonBay Communities by 18,031.0% in the 4th quarter. Auto Owners Insurance Co now owns 11,785,150 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $213,677,000 after purchasing an additional 11,720,150 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in AvalonBay Communities in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,394,635,000. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its stake in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 15,065.6% during the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 1,801,071 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $326,552,000 after buying an additional 1,789,195 shares during the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE grew its stake in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 76.0% during the third quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 2,355,838 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $455,077,000 after buying an additional 1,017,286 shares during the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its stake in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 22.4% during the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 5,159,950 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $935,551,000 after buying an additional 944,129 shares during the last quarter. 92.61% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the company. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on AvalonBay Communities from $193.00 to $191.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 23rd. Jefferies Financial Group raised AvalonBay Communities to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday. Barclays reissued an “equal weight” rating and set a $205.00 price target (up from $203.00) on shares of AvalonBay Communities in a research note on Tuesday, July 14th. Wolfe Research upgraded shares of AvalonBay Communities from an “outperform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $209.00 price objective for the company in a report on Monday, June 1st. Finally, Scotiabank lifted their target price on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $187.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 9th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and fifteen have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, AvalonBay Communities currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $196.80.

AvalonBay Communities Stock Down 0.7%

Shares of NYSE:AVB opened at $189.53 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $26.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.47, a P/E/G ratio of 3.30 and a beta of 0.77. The company has a quick ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 0.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74. AvalonBay Communities, Inc. has a 12-month low of $160.10 and a 12-month high of $203.29. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $187.49 and a 200 day simple moving average of $179.44.

AvalonBay Communities (NYSE:AVB) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 22nd. The real estate investment trust reported $1.11 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.23 by ($0.12). The company had revenue of $777.77 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $772.37 million. AvalonBay Communities had a return on equity of 8.58% and a net margin of 33.33%.During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.82 earnings per share. Analysts predict that AvalonBay Communities, Inc. will post 11.28 earnings per share for the current year.

AvalonBay Communities Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 30th were paid a $1.78 dividend. 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 currently 103.19%.

AvalonBay Communities 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.