State of Alaska Department of Revenue Has $18.64 Million Position in AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB)

State of Alaska Department of Revenue cut its holdings in AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB) by 6.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 84,743 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 5,624 shares during the period. State of Alaska Department of Revenue owned 0.06% of AvalonBay Communities worth $18,639,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Vanderbilt University lifted its position in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 21.2% in the 4th quarter. Vanderbilt University now owns 10,150 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $2,233,000 after acquiring an additional 1,776 shares during the period. Tectonic Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 5.6% in the fourth quarter. Tectonic Advisors LLC now owns 2,042 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $449,000 after purchasing an additional 108 shares in the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. lifted its position in AvalonBay Communities by 8.3% in the fourth quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 22,998 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $5,077,000 after purchasing an additional 1,764 shares during the period. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. boosted its stake in AvalonBay Communities by 29.6% during the fourth quarter. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. now owns 1,260 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $277,000 after buying an additional 288 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Guidance Capital Inc. increased its holdings in AvalonBay Communities by 20.3% in the 4th quarter. Guidance Capital Inc. now owns 4,352 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $935,000 after buying an additional 735 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.61% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. 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 research report on Monday, January 6th. Scotiabank dropped their target price on AvalonBay Communities from $244.00 to $241.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, November 14th. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price target on AvalonBay Communities from $234.00 to $233.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. 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, Barclays reduced their target price on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $243.00 to $230.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $234.60.

AvalonBay Communities Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:AVB opened at $224.27 on Thursday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $221.39 and a 200 day simple moving average of $221.97. The company has a market cap of $31.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.68, a PEG ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 1.00. AvalonBay Communities, Inc. has a one year low of $169.37 and a one year high of $239.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a current ratio of 1.64 and a quick ratio of 1.64.

AvalonBay Communities (NYSE:AVB) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The real estate investment trust reported $2.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.83 by ($0.03). AvalonBay Communities had a net margin of 36.20% and a return on equity of 8.84%. Research analysts predict that AvalonBay Communities, Inc. will post 11.04 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AvalonBay Communities Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be given a dividend of $1.75 per share. This represents a $7.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.12%. This is a boost from AvalonBay Communities’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.70. AvalonBay Communities’s dividend payout ratio is 93.02%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Timothy J. Naughton sold 23,697 shares of the 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 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 document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Company insiders own 0.48% of the company’s stock.

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.