Winebrenner Capital Management LLC Takes $880,000 Position in AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB)

Winebrenner Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm purchased 4,000 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock, valued at approximately $880,000.

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

AvalonBay Communities Stock Down 0.3 %

AVB stock opened at $218.78 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $31.12 billion, a PE ratio of 28.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 0.99. The company has a fifty day moving average of $218.76 and a 200-day moving average of $222.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 1.64 and a current ratio of 1.64. AvalonBay Communities, Inc. has a one year low of $172.85 and a one year high of $239.29.

AvalonBay Communities (NYSE:AVB) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The real estate investment trust reported $2.80 EPS 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%. As a group, analysts expect that AvalonBay Communities, Inc. will post 11.48 EPS for the current year.

AvalonBay Communities Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st will be issued a dividend of $1.75 per share. This represents a $7.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.20%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. This is a positive change from AvalonBay Communities’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.70. AvalonBay Communities’s dividend payout ratio is currently 92.23%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AVB has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Scotiabank cut their price target on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $244.00 to $241.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, November 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded 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 research report on Tuesday, December 17th. Mizuho raised AvalonBay Communities from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their target price for the company from $239.00 to $242.00 in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Evercore ISI lifted their price target 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. Finally, Piper Sandler reduced their price objective on AvalonBay Communities from $270.00 to $265.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $235.47.

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.