Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd Takes $893,000 Position in AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB)

Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd bought a new stake in shares of AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 4,061 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock, valued at approximately $893,000.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. State Street Corp increased its holdings in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 2.2% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 9,245,028 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $2,097,971,000 after purchasing an additional 196,938 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 4,590,539 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $1,009,781,000 after purchasing an additional 27,629 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 55,588 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 0.8% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,585,802 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $805,113,000 after purchasing an additional 27,988 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 3.6% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,240,436 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $504,658,000 after purchasing an additional 78,800 shares in the last quarter. 92.61% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

AvalonBay Communities Trading Up 0.6 %

Shares of AVB opened at $222.93 on Friday. AvalonBay Communities, Inc. has a 52-week low of $172.85 and a 52-week high of $239.29. The company has a quick ratio of 1.64, a current ratio of 1.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $218.71 and its two-hundred day moving average is $223.23. The stock has a market cap of $31.71 billion, a PE ratio of 29.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.11 and a beta of 1.00.

AvalonBay Communities (NYSE:AVB) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The real estate investment trust reported $2.80 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.83 by ($0.03). AvalonBay Communities had a net margin of 37.13% and a return on equity of 9.15%. Research analysts forecast that AvalonBay Communities, Inc. will post 11.48 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AvalonBay Communities Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be given a dividend of $1.75 per share. This is a boost 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 3.14%. AvalonBay Communities’s payout ratio is presently 92.23%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on AVB shares. Scotiabank cut their target price on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $244.00 to $241.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, November 14th. Zelman & Associates raised shares of AvalonBay Communities from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Barclays cut their price target on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $230.00 to $226.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Morgan Stanley lowered shares of AvalonBay Communities from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and cut their price target for the stock from $236.00 to $223.00 in a report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of AvalonBay Communities from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $247.00 to $262.00 in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently 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.