Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. Raises Holdings in AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB)

Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. boosted its stake in shares of AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB) by 0.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 338,796 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,209 shares during the quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. owned 0.24% of AvalonBay Communities worth $74,525,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Creative Planning lifted its stake in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 24.4% in the 2nd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 8,596 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $1,778,000 after purchasing an additional 1,684 shares during the period. Sanctuary Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of AvalonBay Communities in the second quarter worth about $3,701,000. Czech National Bank boosted its stake in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 6.9% during the 3rd quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 28,932 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $6,517,000 after acquiring an additional 1,874 shares in the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC grew its position in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 958.9% during the 3rd quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 172,618 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $38,882,000 after acquiring an additional 156,316 shares during the period. Finally, Handelsbanken Fonder AB increased its stake in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 2.5% in the 3rd quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 84,068 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $18,936,000 after purchasing an additional 2,074 shares in the last quarter. 92.61% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Timothy J. Naughton sold 23,697 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $233.47, for a total value 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.42% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

AvalonBay Communities Stock Performance

NYSE AVB opened at $215.27 on Thursday. AvalonBay Communities, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $169.37 and a fifty-two week high of $239.29. The firm has a market capitalization of $30.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 0.99. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $222.63 and its two-hundred day moving average is $221.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a quick ratio of 1.64 and a current ratio of 1.64.

AvalonBay Communities (NYSE:AVB) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 4th. The real estate investment trust reported $2.61 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.71 by ($0.10). AvalonBay Communities had a net margin of 36.20% and a return on equity of 8.84%. The firm had revenue of $734.31 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $731.67 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.66 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that AvalonBay Communities, Inc. will post 11.04 earnings per share for the current year.

AvalonBay Communities Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 31st were issued a $1.70 dividend. This represents a $6.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.16%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, December 31st. AvalonBay Communities’s dividend payout ratio is presently 93.02%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have commented on AVB. Mizuho raised AvalonBay Communities from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $239.00 to $242.00 in a report on Monday, January 6th. Scotiabank dropped their price target on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $244.00 to $241.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, November 14th. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price objective on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $234.00 to $233.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of AvalonBay Communities from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $247.00 to $262.00 in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. Finally, Barclays decreased their price target 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 given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, AvalonBay Communities has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $234.60.

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.