Pensionfund PDN Acquires Shares of 20,120 AvalonBay Communities, Inc. $AVB

Pensionfund PDN acquired a new stake in shares of AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 20,120 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock, valued at approximately $3,648,000. AvalonBay Communities accounts for about 2.4% of Pensionfund PDN’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 10th biggest holding.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. SG Americas Securities LLC raised its holdings in AvalonBay Communities by 1,078.3% during the 4th quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 81,219 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $14,726,000 after buying an additional 74,326 shares during the last quarter. Chesapeake Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in AvalonBay Communities by 9.1% in the 4th quarter. Chesapeake Asset Management LLC now owns 2,383 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $432,000 after acquiring an additional 198 shares during the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB grew its holdings in AvalonBay Communities by 4.1% in the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 444,222 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $80,449,000 after acquiring an additional 17,352 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 6.6% in the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,487 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $451,000 after acquiring an additional 154 shares during the period. Finally, Davis Selected Advisers increased its position in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 15.2% in the third quarter. Davis Selected Advisers now owns 66,580 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $12,861,000 after acquiring an additional 8,760 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 92.61% of the company’s stock.

AvalonBay Communities Stock Up 1.0%

NYSE:AVB opened at $163.06 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 0.77 and a quick ratio of 0.77. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $175.46 and its 200-day moving average price is $180.90. The company has a market capitalization of $22.84 billion, a PE ratio of 19.91, a P/E/G ratio of 2.83 and a beta of 0.75. AvalonBay Communities, Inc. has a 1-year low of $160.72 and a 1-year high of $217.32.

AvalonBay Communities (NYSE:AVB) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 5th. The real estate investment trust reported $2.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.84 by $0.01. AvalonBay Communities had a net margin of 34.57% and a return on equity of 8.78%. The company had revenue of $767.86 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $766.38 million. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.80 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that AvalonBay Communities, Inc. will post 11.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AvalonBay Communities Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 31st will be issued a dividend of $1.78 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 31st. This is a positive change from AvalonBay Communities’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.75. This represents a $7.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.4%. AvalonBay Communities’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 86.94%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on AVB. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered shares of AvalonBay Communities from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $172.00 target price for the company. in a report on Tuesday, January 20th. Barclays lowered their price target on AvalonBay Communities from $217.00 to $202.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, March 6th. Mizuho dropped their price objective on AvalonBay Communities from $199.00 to $191.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, November 24th. Scotiabank reduced their target price on AvalonBay Communities from $193.00 to $190.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, March 4th. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on AvalonBay Communities from $222.50 to $208.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, March 16th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and thirteen have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $198.75.

AvalonBay Communities Profile

AvalonBay Communities, Inc (NYSE: AVB) is a publicly traded real estate investment trust (REIT) that owns, develops, redevelops and manages multifamily residential properties. The company focuses on professionally managed apartment communities, offering a range of rental housing options and related resident services. As a REIT, AvalonBay’s core activities center on the acquisition and development of apartment assets and the ongoing operations and leasing of those communities.

AvalonBay’s operating activities include ground-up development, strategic redevelopment of existing properties, property and asset management, and on-site leasing and resident services.