Narwhal Capital Management Buys New Shares in AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB)

Narwhal Capital Management purchased a new position in shares of AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm purchased 5,587 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock, valued at approximately $1,229,000.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. APG Asset Management N.V. increased its holdings in AvalonBay Communities by 890.8% in the second quarter. APG Asset Management N.V. now owns 47,716 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $9,211,000 after purchasing an additional 42,900 shares in the last quarter. MBB Public Markets I LLC acquired a new stake in shares of AvalonBay Communities during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $2,115,000. Creative Planning increased its stake in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 24.4% in the 2nd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 8,596 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $1,778,000 after acquiring an additional 1,684 shares in the last quarter. Delphi Management Inc. MA lifted its position in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 7.3% during the 2nd quarter. Delphi Management Inc. MA now owns 8,903 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $1,842,000 after acquiring an additional 605 shares during the period. Finally, Sanctuary Advisors LLC bought a new position in AvalonBay Communities during the second quarter worth $3,701,000. 92.61% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at AvalonBay Communities

In other news, Director Timothy J. Naughton sold 23,697 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 87,239 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $20,367,689.33. This represents a 21.36 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.42% of the company’s stock.

AvalonBay Communities Trading Up 0.3 %

Shares of AVB stock opened at $214.48 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a quick ratio of 1.64 and a current ratio of 1.64. The company has a market capitalization of $30.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.34, a PEG ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 0.99. AvalonBay Communities, Inc. has a 52-week low of $169.37 and a 52-week high of $239.29. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $223.01 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $221.14.

AvalonBay Communities (NYSE:AVB) last announced its earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The real estate investment trust reported $2.61 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.71 by ($0.10). The business had revenue of $734.31 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $731.67 million. AvalonBay Communities had a return on equity of 8.84% and a net margin of 36.20%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.66 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that AvalonBay Communities, Inc. will post 11.04 EPS for the current fiscal 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 given a dividend of $1.70 per share. This represents a $6.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.17%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, December 31st. AvalonBay Communities’s dividend payout ratio is presently 93.02%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price objective on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $234.00 to $233.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Scotiabank cut their price target on AvalonBay Communities from $244.00 to $241.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, November 14th. Morgan Stanley lowered AvalonBay Communities from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $236.00 to $223.00 in a research report on Friday. Mizuho raised shares of AvalonBay Communities from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $239.00 to $242.00 in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Barclays decreased their price target on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $243.00 to $230.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $234.60.

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.