ASR Vermogensbeheer N.V. Invests $6.20 Million in AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB)

Key Points

• ASR Vermogensbeheer N.V. has acquired 28,906 shares of AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB), valued at approximately $6.2 million.
• AvalonBay recently reported earnings per share of $2.82, beating estimates, but revealed that revenue was below analyst expectations with $689.90 million.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $1.75 per share, resulting in an annual yield of 3.8% and reflecting a payout ratio of 86.21%.

ASR Vermogensbeheer N.V. purchased a new position in AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 28,906 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock, valued at approximately $6,204,000.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its stake in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 35.0% in the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 5,152,183 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $1,133,328,000 after purchasing an additional 1,336,698 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp boosted its holdings in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 54.8% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 2,642,743 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $581,324,000 after buying an additional 935,770 shares in the last quarter. Cohen & Steers Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 25.7% during the 4th quarter. Cohen & Steers Inc. now owns 3,130,108 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $688,527,000 after buying an additional 639,402 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 21,024.3% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 550,500 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $118,148,000 after buying an additional 547,894 shares during the period. Finally, Adelante Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 1,186.4% in the 4th quarter. Adelante Capital Management LLC now owns 400,444 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $88,086,000 after acquiring an additional 369,316 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.61% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AVB has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Evercore ISI lowered their price objective on AvalonBay Communities from $229.00 to $216.00 and set an "in-line" rating for the company in a research note on Monday. Wall Street Zen raised AvalonBay Communities from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, August 2nd. Mizuho cut their price objective on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $238.00 to $213.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 23rd. UBS Group reduced their price objective on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $238.00 to $216.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, July 15th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $226.00 to $228.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 15th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $228.79.

AvalonBay Communities Stock Performance

AVB traded down $1.50 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $186.74. 720,401 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 866,495. The company's fifty day moving average price is $201.24 and its 200-day moving average price is $207.38. The stock has a market capitalization of $26.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.00, a P/E/G ratio of 2.53 and a beta of 0.86. The company has a quick ratio of 0.51, a current ratio of 0.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71. AvalonBay Communities, Inc. has a 52-week low of $180.40 and a 52-week high of $239.29.

AvalonBay Communities (NYSE:AVB - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 30th. The real estate investment trust reported $2.82 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.80 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $689.90 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $759.08 million. AvalonBay Communities had a return on equity of 9.70% and a net margin of 38.91%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.77 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts expect that AvalonBay Communities, Inc. will post 11.48 EPS for the current year.

AvalonBay Communities Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 30th were paid a $1.75 dividend. This represents a $7.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.7%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 30th. AvalonBay Communities's dividend payout ratio is 86.21%.

Insider Activity at AvalonBay Communities

In related news, CFO Kevin P. O'shea sold 6,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $207.57, for a total value of $1,245,420.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 22,782 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,728,859.74. This trade represents a 20.85% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Edward M. Schulman sold 5,945 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $205.67, for a total transaction of $1,222,708.15. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 17,617 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,623,288.39. This represents a 25.23% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.45% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

AvalonBay Communities Company 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.