Adams Diversified Equity Fund Inc. Invests $8.01 Million in AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB)

Adams Diversified Equity Fund Inc. acquired a new position in AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm acquired 36,400 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock, valued at approximately $8,007,000.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS grew its position in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 37.0% in the 4th quarter. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS now owns 76,354 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $16,796,000 after buying an additional 20,619 shares during the last quarter. iA Global Asset Management Inc. grew its position in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 27.4% in the 4th quarter. iA Global Asset Management Inc. now owns 5,213 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $1,147,000 after buying an additional 1,120 shares during the last quarter. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd grew its position in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 33.5% in the 4th quarter. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd now owns 2,898 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $637,000 after buying an additional 728 shares during the last quarter. Xponance Inc. grew its position in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 1.3% in the 4th quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 25,907 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $5,699,000 after buying an additional 340 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Intech Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of AvalonBay Communities in the 4th quarter worth approximately $490,000. 92.61% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AVB has been the topic of several research reports. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on AvalonBay Communities from $226.00 to $229.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Morgan Stanley lowered AvalonBay Communities from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and dropped their price target for the company from $236.00 to $223.00 in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Mizuho upgraded 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. Zelman & Associates upgraded AvalonBay Communities from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Evercore ISI lifted their price target on AvalonBay Communities from $230.00 to $240.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $238.64.

AvalonBay Communities Stock Up 0.3 %

AVB stock opened at $211.44 on Friday. AvalonBay Communities, Inc. has a 1-year low of $177.40 and a 1-year high of $239.29. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $217.93 and a 200-day moving average price of $223.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 1.64 and a quick ratio of 1.64. The stock has a market capitalization of $30.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.86, a P/E/G ratio of 3.11 and a beta of 1.00.

AvalonBay Communities (NYSE:AVB) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The real estate investment trust reported $2.80 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.83 by ($0.03). AvalonBay Communities had a return on equity of 9.15% and a net margin of 37.13%. Equities analysts forecast that AvalonBay Communities, Inc. will post 11.48 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AvalonBay Communities Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be paid a $1.75 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $7.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.31%. This is a boost from AvalonBay Communities’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.70. AvalonBay Communities’s payout ratio is currently 92.23%.

AvalonBay Communities Company 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.