Maryland State Retirement & Pension System Has $1.67 Million Position in AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB)

Maryland State Retirement & Pension System lowered its holdings in AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB) by 6.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 7,574 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 530 shares during the quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System’s holdings in AvalonBay Communities were worth $1,666,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC acquired a new stake in AvalonBay Communities in the 3rd quarter valued at $26,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in AvalonBay Communities in the 4th quarter valued at $36,000. Brooklyn Investment Group acquired a new stake in AvalonBay Communities in the 3rd quarter valued at $39,000. Prospera Private Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in AvalonBay Communities in the 3rd quarter valued at $51,000. Finally, Generali Asset Management SPA SGR acquired a new stake in AvalonBay Communities in the 4th quarter valued at $66,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.61% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. Piper Sandler cut their price objective 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. Barclays cut their price objective on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $230.00 to $226.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $230.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. Zelman & Associates raised shares of AvalonBay Communities from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Truist Financial lifted their price objective on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $229.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, March 10th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $238.64.

AvalonBay Communities Trading Down 0.9 %

Shares of AvalonBay Communities stock opened at $209.49 on Friday. AvalonBay Communities, Inc. has a 52-week low of $177.40 and a 52-week high of $239.29. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $217.90 and its 200 day simple moving average is $222.93. The stock has a market capitalization of $29.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.60, a P/E/G ratio of 3.11 and a beta of 1.00. 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 announced its quarterly earnings data 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%. As a group, research analysts anticipate that AvalonBay Communities, Inc. will post 11.48 EPS for the current year.

AvalonBay Communities Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st will be paid a $1.75 dividend. This is a boost from AvalonBay Communities’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.70. 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. AvalonBay Communities’s payout ratio is currently 92.23%.

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.