AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB) Stock Holdings Lifted by State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D

State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D lifted its position in AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB) by 4.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 84,050 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,500 shares during the quarter. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D owned approximately 0.06% of AvalonBay Communities worth $18,488,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AVB. CWM LLC grew its holdings in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 4.8% during the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,639 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $369,000 after buying an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. Creative Planning grew its stake in AvalonBay Communities by 4.7% during the 3rd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 9,004 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $2,028,000 after acquiring an additional 408 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. increased its holdings in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 115.2% in the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,668 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $552,000 after purchasing an additional 1,428 shares during the period. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lifted its position in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 3.5% in the third quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 7,776 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $1,752,000 after purchasing an additional 263 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 147.8% during the third quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 721 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $162,000 after purchasing an additional 430 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.61% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Morgan Stanley lowered shares of AvalonBay Communities from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and decreased their target price for the company from $236.00 to $223.00 in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Zelman & Associates upgraded AvalonBay Communities from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Barclays dropped their target price on AvalonBay Communities from $243.00 to $230.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Scotiabank reduced their price target 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. Finally, Piper Sandler dropped their price objective on AvalonBay Communities from $270.00 to $265.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $235.73.

AvalonBay Communities Price Performance

NYSE AVB opened at $217.97 on Tuesday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $219.58 and a 200 day simple moving average of $222.73. AvalonBay Communities, Inc. has a twelve month low of $172.85 and a twelve month high of $239.29. The stock has a market capitalization of $31.00 billion, a PE ratio of 28.72, a P/E/G ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 0.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 1.64 and a current ratio of 1.64.

AvalonBay Communities (NYSE:AVB) last issued 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 return on equity of 9.15% and a net margin of 37.13%. Research analysts anticipate that AvalonBay Communities, Inc. will post 11.53 EPS for the current year.

AvalonBay Communities Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be issued a dividend of $1.75 per share. This is an increase from AvalonBay Communities’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.70. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $7.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.21%. AvalonBay Communities’s payout ratio is presently 89.59%.

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.