Farringdon Capital Ltd. Acquires New Shares in AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB)

Farringdon Capital Ltd. acquired a new stake in AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 3,882 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock, valued at approximately $854,000.

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

AvalonBay Communities Price Performance

Shares of AVB traded up $5.24 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $207.03. The company had a trading volume of 125,497 shares, compared to its average volume of 693,545. AvalonBay Communities, Inc. has a 1-year low of $180.40 and a 1-year high of $239.29. The company has a market capitalization of $29.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.26, 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 quick ratio of 1.64 and a current ratio of 1.64. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $210.76 and its 200 day simple moving average is $218.91.

AvalonBay Communities (NYSE:AVB - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The real estate investment trust reported $2.80 EPS 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%. Analysts expect that AvalonBay Communities, Inc. will post 11.48 EPS for the current year.

AvalonBay Communities Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st were issued a $1.75 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 31st. This represents a $7.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.38%. This is an increase from AvalonBay Communities's previous quarterly dividend of $1.70. AvalonBay Communities's dividend payout ratio is currently 92.23%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on AVB shares. Morgan Stanley lowered shares of AvalonBay Communities from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $236.00 to $223.00 in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Piper Sandler reduced 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. Truist Financial upped their price target on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $229.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, March 10th. Evercore ISI increased their target price on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $230.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock an "in-line" rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on AvalonBay Communities from $226.00 to $229.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target 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.