Retirement Systems of Alabama Buys 208 Shares of AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB)

Retirement Systems of Alabama boosted its stake in AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB) by 0.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 112,893 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after purchasing an additional 208 shares during the quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama owned about 0.08% of AvalonBay Communities worth $24,833,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its position in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 1.4% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 4,060,497 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $914,627,000 after buying an additional 55,588 shares in the last quarter. American Assets Capital Advisers LLC bought a new position in AvalonBay Communities in the third quarter valued at $1,014,000. West Oak Capital LLC raised its position in AvalonBay Communities by 875.3% during the fourth quarter. West Oak Capital LLC now owns 15,800 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $356,000 after purchasing an additional 14,180 shares in the last quarter. KBC Group NV lifted its stake in AvalonBay Communities by 284.8% during the third quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 146,429 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $32,983,000 after purchasing an additional 108,371 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Swedbank AB boosted its holdings in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 46.6% in the 3rd quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 34,791 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $7,837,000 after purchasing an additional 11,064 shares in the last quarter. 92.61% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

AvalonBay Communities Stock Up 1.6 %

Shares of NYSE:AVB opened at $224.27 on Thursday. AvalonBay Communities, Inc. has a 1 year low of $169.37 and a 1 year high of $239.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a current ratio of 1.64 and a quick ratio of 1.64. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $221.39 and its 200 day moving average is $221.97. The company has a market cap of $31.90 billion, a PE ratio of 30.68, a P/E/G ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 1.00.

AvalonBay Communities (NYSE:AVB) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The real estate investment trust reported $2.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.83 by ($0.03). AvalonBay Communities had a net margin of 36.20% and a return on equity of 8.84%. Sell-side analysts anticipate that AvalonBay Communities, Inc. will post 11.04 EPS for the current year.

AvalonBay Communities Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be given a $1.75 dividend. This represents a $7.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.12%. This is a boost from AvalonBay Communities’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.70. AvalonBay Communities’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 93.02%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on AVB shares. Morgan Stanley cut AvalonBay Communities from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and decreased their price objective for the company from $236.00 to $223.00 in a report on Friday, January 24th. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price target on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $234.00 to $233.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Barclays lowered their price objective on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $243.00 to $230.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of AvalonBay Communities from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their target price for the company from $247.00 to $262.00 in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. Finally, Mizuho raised shares of AvalonBay Communities from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $239.00 to $242.00 in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, AvalonBay Communities has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $234.60.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Timothy J. Naughton sold 2,261 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $233.78, for a total value of $528,576.58. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 111,436 shares in the company, valued at $26,051,508.08. This trade represents a 1.99 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.48% of the company’s stock.

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.