AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (AVB) to Distribute Quarterly Dividend of $1.65 on July 17th

AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB – Get Rating) declared a quarterly dividend on Wednesday, May 24th, RTT News reports. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 30th will be paid a dividend of 1.65 per share by the real estate investment trust on Monday, July 17th. This represents a $6.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.87%.

AvalonBay Communities has raised its dividend payment by an average of 1.5% per year over the last three years and has increased its dividend annually for the last 1 consecutive years. AvalonBay Communities has a dividend payout ratio of 132.3% indicating that the company cannot currently cover its dividend with earnings alone and is relying on its balance sheet to cover its dividend payments. Analysts expect AvalonBay Communities to earn $11.02 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $6.60 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 59.9%.

AvalonBay Communities Price Performance

AvalonBay Communities stock opened at $170.47 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $24.21 billion, a PE ratio of 23.38, a P/E/G ratio of 2.92 and a beta of 0.92. AvalonBay Communities has a 52 week low of $153.07 and a 52 week high of $220.42. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $171.28 and its 200 day simple moving average is $170.59. The company has a quick ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72.

Insider Transactions at AvalonBay Communities

In other AvalonBay Communities news, CIO Matthew H. Birenbaum sold 4,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $176.10, for a total transaction of $704,400.00. Following the sale, the executive now owns 62,559 shares in the company, valued at $11,016,639.90. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Corporate insiders own 0.42% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of AVB. Cetera Advisor Networks LLC raised its position in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 8.2% during the 1st quarter. Cetera Advisor Networks LLC now owns 1,485 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $369,000 after purchasing an additional 113 shares during the period. Private Advisor Group LLC boosted its stake in AvalonBay Communities by 18.0% during the 1st quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 2,007 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $499,000 after purchasing an additional 306 shares during the period. Prudential PLC bought a new position in AvalonBay Communities in the 1st quarter worth about $704,000. Cetera Investment Advisers increased its stake in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 54.4% in the first quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 5,260 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $1,306,000 after purchasing an additional 1,853 shares during the period. Finally, Candriam Luxembourg S.C.A. raised its holdings in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 7.8% during the first quarter. Candriam Luxembourg S.C.A. now owns 12,461 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $3,095,000 after buying an additional 901 shares during the last quarter. 87.30% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have weighed in on AVB. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on AvalonBay Communities from $187.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 1st. Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $185.00 to $195.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 14th. Wells Fargo & Company began coverage on shares of AvalonBay Communities in a report on Wednesday, March 29th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $184.00 target price for the company. 888 reiterated a “maintains” rating on shares of AvalonBay Communities in a report on Friday, May 19th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on AvalonBay Communities from $186.00 to $189.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday, February 10th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $201.68.

About AvalonBay Communities

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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: Established Communities, Other Stabilized Communities, and Development or Redevelopment Communities.