UMB Bank n.a. Acquires 114 Shares of AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB)

UMB Bank n.a. increased its stake in shares of AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB) by 4.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 2,723 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after purchasing an additional 114 shares during the period. UMB Bank n.a.’s holdings in AvalonBay Communities were worth $599,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. boosted its position in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 16.5% in the second quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. now owns 2,371 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $491,000 after acquiring an additional 336 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc. grew its position in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 4.9% during the 2nd quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 10,092 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $2,088,000 after purchasing an additional 468 shares in the last quarter. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc increased its holdings in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 109.7% in the second quarter. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc now owns 32,987 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $6,825,000 after purchasing an additional 17,257 shares during the period. Profund Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 2.9% in the second quarter. Profund Advisors LLC now owns 2,202 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $456,000 after buying an additional 63 shares in the last quarter. Finally, ProShare Advisors LLC boosted its stake in AvalonBay Communities by 4.3% during the second quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 32,312 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $6,685,000 after buying an additional 1,328 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.61% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at AvalonBay Communities

In related news, Director Timothy J. Naughton sold 23,697 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $233.47, for a total transaction of $5,532,538.59. Following the transaction, the director now owns 87,239 shares in the company, valued at $20,367,689.33. The trade was a 21.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.48% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

AvalonBay Communities Stock Performance

NYSE:AVB opened at $219.17 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a quick ratio of 1.64 and a current ratio of 1.64. AvalonBay Communities, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $169.37 and a fifty-two week high of $239.29. The firm has a market cap of $31.17 billion, a PE ratio of 29.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.04 and a beta of 0.99. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $224.19 and a 200-day moving average price of $220.93.

AvalonBay Communities (NYSE:AVB) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 4th. The real estate investment trust reported $2.61 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.71 by ($0.10). The firm had revenue of $734.31 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $731.67 million. AvalonBay Communities had a net margin of 36.20% and a return on equity of 8.84%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.66 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that AvalonBay Communities, Inc. will post 11.04 earnings per share for the current year.

AvalonBay Communities Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st were paid a dividend of $1.70 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, December 31st. This represents a $6.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.10%. AvalonBay Communities’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 93.02%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AVB has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price target on AvalonBay Communities from $234.00 to $233.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Scotiabank dropped their target price on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $244.00 to $241.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, November 14th. Mizuho raised shares of AvalonBay Communities from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $239.00 to $242.00 in a report on Monday, January 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of AvalonBay Communities from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $247.00 to $262.00 in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. Finally, Barclays began coverage on AvalonBay Communities in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $243.00 target price on the stock. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $234.53.

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.