AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB) Holdings Lifted by Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd

Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd boosted its position in shares of AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB) by 33.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,898 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after buying an additional 728 shares during the quarter. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd’s holdings in AvalonBay Communities were worth $637,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Xponance Inc. boosted its position in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 1.3% in the 4th quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 25,907 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $5,699,000 after purchasing an additional 340 shares during the period. Intech Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of AvalonBay Communities in the 4th quarter valued at $490,000. Generali Asset Management SPA SGR acquired a new position in shares of AvalonBay Communities in the 4th quarter valued at $66,000. Horizon Investments LLC boosted its position in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 2.0% in the 4th quarter. Horizon Investments LLC now owns 8,730 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $1,920,000 after purchasing an additional 175 shares during the period. Finally, Kensington Investment Counsel LLC boosted its position in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 40.3% in the 4th quarter. Kensington Investment Counsel LLC now owns 15,646 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $3,442,000 after purchasing an additional 4,491 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.61% of the company’s stock.

AvalonBay Communities Stock Up 0.3 %

AVB opened at $211.44 on Friday. AvalonBay Communities, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $177.40 and a fifty-two week high of $239.29. The business has a 50-day moving average of $217.93 and a 200-day moving average of $223.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 1.64 and a quick ratio of 1.64. The company has a market capitalization of $30.08 billion, a PE ratio of 27.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.11 and a beta of 1.00.

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

AvalonBay Communities Increases Dividend

The business 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 represents a $7.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.31%. This is an increase from AvalonBay Communities’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.70. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. AvalonBay Communities’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 92.23%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently weighed in on AVB. Truist Financial increased their price target on AvalonBay Communities from $229.00 to $230.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, March 10th. Evercore ISI increased their price target on AvalonBay Communities from $230.00 to $240.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Piper Sandler decreased their price objective on AvalonBay Communities from $270.00 to $265.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on AvalonBay Communities from $226.00 to $229.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Zelman & Associates upgraded AvalonBay Communities from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $238.64.

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.