AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB) Shares Sold by Russell Investments Group Ltd.

Russell Investments Group Ltd. reduced its position in AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB) by 2.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 690,922 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 19,500 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd.’s holdings in AvalonBay Communities were worth $151,979,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AVB. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd raised its stake in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 121.8% during the 4th quarter. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd now owns 2,125 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $467,000 after buying an additional 1,167 shares during the period. Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in AvalonBay Communities during the fourth quarter worth $17,352,000. Landscape Capital Management L.L.C. acquired a new position in AvalonBay Communities during the fourth quarter worth $441,000. Atlas Capital Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in AvalonBay Communities during the fourth quarter valued at $325,000. Finally, ExodusPoint Capital Management LP grew its position in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 7.7% in the fourth quarter. ExodusPoint Capital Management LP now owns 199,729 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $43,934,000 after purchasing an additional 14,228 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.61% of the company’s stock.

AvalonBay Communities Stock Performance

NYSE AVB opened at $191.69 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $216.75 and a 200-day simple moving average of $221.69. The company has a current ratio of 1.64, a quick ratio of 1.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68. The stock has a market cap of $27.27 billion, a PE ratio of 25.26, a P/E/G ratio of 3.11 and a beta of 0.86. AvalonBay Communities, Inc. has a twelve month low of $177.40 and a twelve month high of $239.29.

AvalonBay Communities (NYSE:AVB) last released its quarterly earnings results 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%. Equities analysts anticipate that AvalonBay Communities, Inc. will post 11.48 earnings per share 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 given a dividend of $1.75 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. This is an increase from AvalonBay Communities’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.70. This represents a $7.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.65%. AvalonBay Communities’s payout ratio is currently 92.23%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have commented on AVB shares. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on AvalonBay Communities from $226.00 to $229.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of AvalonBay Communities from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $247.00 to $262.00 in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. Mizuho upgraded shares of AvalonBay Communities from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their target price for the company from $239.00 to $242.00 in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Morgan Stanley lowered shares of AvalonBay Communities from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and lowered their price target for the stock from $236.00 to $223.00 in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Truist Financial increased their price objective on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $229.00 to $230.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, March 10th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $237.40.

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.