Cohen & Steers Inc. Buys 639,402 Shares of AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB)

Cohen & Steers Inc. increased its stake in AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB) by 25.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 3,130,108 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after acquiring an additional 639,402 shares during the quarter. AvalonBay Communities comprises 1.3% of Cohen & Steers Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 22nd largest holding. Cohen & Steers Inc. owned about 2.20% of AvalonBay Communities worth $688,527,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Norges Bank bought a new position in AvalonBay Communities during the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,499,050,000. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its stake in AvalonBay Communities by 49.9% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,488,975 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $547,500,000 after buying an additional 828,009 shares during the last quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. raised its stake in AvalonBay Communities by 51.7% during the fourth quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 554,290 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $121,927,000 after buying an additional 188,906 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. lifted its holdings in AvalonBay Communities by 13.4% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,449,566 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $318,861,000 after buying an additional 170,952 shares during the period. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in AvalonBay Communities during the fourth quarter valued at $35,153,000. 92.61% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

AvalonBay Communities Trading Down 0.3 %

AVB opened at $192.95 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $27.47 billion, a PE ratio of 25.42, a P/E/G ratio of 3.11 and a beta of 0.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 1.64 and a quick ratio of 1.64. AvalonBay Communities, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $177.40 and a fifty-two week high of $239.29. The company’s 50-day moving average is $213.02 and its 200 day moving average is $219.81.

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

AvalonBay Communities Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be paid a $1.75 dividend. This is a positive change 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 3.63%. AvalonBay Communities’s dividend payout ratio is presently 92.23%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently weighed in on AVB. BMO Capital Markets lowered AvalonBay Communities from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and set a $220.00 price objective for the company. in a research report on Friday, April 4th. Truist Financial lifted their target price on AvalonBay Communities from $229.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, March 10th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on AvalonBay Communities from $226.00 to $229.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. Zelman & Associates upgraded shares of AvalonBay Communities from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered shares of AvalonBay Communities from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and cut their target price for the stock from $236.00 to $223.00 in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, AvalonBay Communities currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $237.47.

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.