AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB) Shares Purchased by Sei Investments Co.

Sei Investments Co. boosted its stake in AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB) by 14.1% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 344,139 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after buying an additional 42,416 shares during the period. Sei Investments Co.’s holdings in AvalonBay Communities were worth $75,701,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Mizuho Securities USA LLC raised its holdings in AvalonBay Communities by 46.2% in the fourth quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 13,463 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $2,961,000 after acquiring an additional 4,253 shares in the last quarter. Virtu Financial LLC acquired a new stake in AvalonBay Communities in the fourth quarter valued at $340,000. Quantbot Technologies LP acquired a new stake in AvalonBay Communities in the fourth quarter valued at $441,000. Adams Diversified Equity Fund Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of AvalonBay Communities during the fourth quarter worth $8,007,000. Finally, Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS raised its holdings in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 37.0% during the fourth 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 purchasing an additional 20,619 shares during the period. 92.61% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

AvalonBay Communities Stock Performance

Shares of AVB opened at $209.49 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $217.90 and a 200 day moving average price of $222.90. The firm has a market capitalization of $29.80 billion, a PE ratio of 27.60, a P/E/G ratio of 3.11 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a quick ratio of 1.64, a current ratio of 1.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68. AvalonBay Communities, Inc. has a 52-week low of $177.40 and a 52-week high of $239.29.

AvalonBay Communities (NYSE:AVB) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The real estate investment trust reported $2.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.83 by ($0.03). AvalonBay Communities had a net margin of 37.13% and a return on equity of 9.15%. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that AvalonBay Communities, Inc. will post 11.48 earnings per share 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. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st will be given a $1.75 dividend. This represents a $7.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.34%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. This is a positive change from AvalonBay Communities’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.70. AvalonBay Communities’s dividend payout ratio is currently 92.23%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have weighed in on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $226.00 to $229.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. Mizuho raised shares of AvalonBay Communities from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $239.00 to $242.00 in a report on Monday, January 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of AvalonBay Communities from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $247.00 to $262.00 in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. Piper Sandler dropped their target price on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $270.00 to $265.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut shares of AvalonBay Communities from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $236.00 to $223.00 in a report on Friday, January 24th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, AvalonBay Communities currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $238.64.

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.