Dimensional Fund Advisors LP Buys 23,459 Shares of AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB)

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in shares of AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB - Free Report) by 1.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,094,419 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after acquiring an additional 23,459 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP owned approximately 1.47% of AvalonBay Communities worth $460,711,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Wedmont Private Capital raised its position in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 5.3% during the 4th quarter. Wedmont Private Capital now owns 1,094 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $231,000 after buying an additional 55 shares in the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC grew its holdings in AvalonBay Communities by 4.0% during the fourth quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 1,616 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $356,000 after acquiring an additional 62 shares during the period. Private Advisor Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 2.6% in the 4th quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 2,512 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $553,000 after purchasing an additional 63 shares in the last quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund lifted its holdings in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 12,179 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $2,679,000 after purchasing an additional 69 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Greenleaf Trust grew its position in AvalonBay Communities by 2.4% during the 4th quarter. Greenleaf Trust now owns 3,028 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $666,000 after purchasing an additional 70 shares in the last quarter. 92.61% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AVB has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Piper Sandler decreased their price objective on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $270.00 to $265.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Morgan Stanley cut shares of AvalonBay Communities from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $236.00 to $223.00 in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Evercore ISI raised their price objective on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $230.00 to $240.00 and gave the company an "in-line" rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Truist Financial upped their target price on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $229.00 to $230.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, March 10th. Finally, Zelman & Associates upgraded shares of AvalonBay Communities from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. 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, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $237.47.

AvalonBay Communities Price Performance

Shares of AVB traded down $0.80 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $205.93. 210,298 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 691,820. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $210.04 and a 200 day moving average price of $218.66. AvalonBay Communities, Inc. has a 1 year low of $180.40 and a 1 year high of $239.29. The company has a market cap of $29.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.11 and a beta of 0.86. The company has a current ratio of 1.64, a quick ratio of 1.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68.

AvalonBay Communities (NYSE:AVB - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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, equities research analysts predict that AvalonBay Communities, Inc. will post 11.48 earnings per share for the current year.

AvalonBay Communities Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st were issued a $1.75 dividend. This represents a $7.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.40%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 31st. This is a boost from AvalonBay Communities's previous quarterly dividend of $1.70. AvalonBay Communities's dividend payout ratio is 92.23%.

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.