Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd Increases Stake in AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB)

Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd grew its holdings in AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVBFree Report) by 10.7% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 46,233 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after buying an additional 4,459 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd’s holdings in AvalonBay Communities were worth $10,170,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC bought a new position in AvalonBay Communities in the 3rd quarter worth $26,000. Brooklyn Investment Group purchased a new stake in AvalonBay Communities in the third quarter worth about $39,000. Mather Group LLC. raised its stake in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 38.6% in the third quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 201 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $45,000 after buying an additional 56 shares during the period. Prospera Private Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of AvalonBay Communities during the 3rd quarter valued at about $51,000. Finally, MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB grew its stake in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 59.9% during the 4th quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 478 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $105,000 after acquiring an additional 179 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.61% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at AvalonBay Communities

In other AvalonBay Communities news, Director Timothy J. Naughton sold 23,697 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.42% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

AvalonBay Communities Price Performance

AvalonBay Communities stock opened at $220.23 on Friday. AvalonBay Communities, Inc. has a 52-week low of $169.37 and a 52-week high of $239.29. The company has a market cap of $31.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.13, a PEG ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 0.99. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $220.79 and its 200 day moving average is $221.98. The company has a quick ratio of 1.64, a current ratio of 1.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70.

AvalonBay Communities (NYSE:AVBGet Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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 36.20% and a return on equity of 8.84%. Sell-side analysts forecast that AvalonBay Communities, Inc. will post 11.04 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AvalonBay Communities Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be given a dividend of $1.75 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $7.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.18%. This is an increase from AvalonBay Communities’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.70. AvalonBay Communities’s payout ratio is currently 92.23%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have weighed in on AVB shares. 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 report on Monday, January 6th. Barclays dropped their target price on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $243.00 to $230.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised AvalonBay Communities from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price target for the company from $247.00 to $262.00 in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. Morgan Stanley lowered AvalonBay Communities from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $236.00 to $223.00 in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on AvalonBay Communities from $226.00 to $229.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Friday. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $234.33.

View Our Latest Stock Analysis on AvalonBay Communities

AvalonBay Communities Company Profile

(Free Report)

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.

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Institutional Ownership by Quarter for AvalonBay Communities (NYSE:AVB)

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