Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. Increases Stake in AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB)

Key Points

• Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its stake in AvalonBay Communities by 9.1% in Q1, now holding 344,505 shares valued at approximately $73.9 million.
• AvalonBay reported a quarterly EPS of $2.82, surpassing estimates of $2.80, but its revenue of $689.90 million fell short of expectations of $759.08 million.
• The company has announced a quarterly dividend of $1.75 per share, leading to an annualized dividend yield of 3.7% and a payout ratio of 86.21%.

Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its position in AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB - Free Report) by 9.1% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 344,505 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after purchasing an additional 28,608 shares during the quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. owned 0.24% of AvalonBay Communities worth $73,938,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Hsbc Holdings PLC raised its position in AvalonBay Communities by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 604,010 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $132,751,000 after purchasing an additional 8,439 shares during the period. Achmea Investment Management B.V. raised its position in AvalonBay Communities by 33.5% in the 1st quarter. Achmea Investment Management B.V. now owns 23,068 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $4,951,000 after purchasing an additional 5,791 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd grew its stake in AvalonBay Communities by 4.9% in the 1st quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd now owns 48,476 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $10,404,000 after acquiring an additional 2,243 shares in the last quarter. Vert Asset Management LLC grew its stake in AvalonBay Communities by 5.0% in the 1st quarter. Vert Asset Management LLC now owns 66,660 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $14,307,000 after acquiring an additional 3,199 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GF Fund Management CO. LTD. bought a new position in AvalonBay Communities in the 4th quarter worth about $568,000. 92.61% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on AVB. Piper Sandler reiterated a "neutral" rating and set a $200.00 price objective (down from $255.00) on shares of AvalonBay Communities in a research note on Monday, August 4th. Scotiabank dropped their price objective on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $251.00 to $236.00 and set a "sector perform" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, June 13th. Evercore ISI lowered their target price on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $229.00 to $216.00 and set an "in-line" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, August 4th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $226.00 to $228.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 15th. Finally, Mizuho lowered their target price on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $238.00 to $213.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 23rd. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $228.79.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Kevin P. O'shea sold 6,000 shares of AvalonBay Communities stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the chief financial officer owned 22,782 shares in the company, valued at $4,728,859.74. This trade represents a 20.85% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Edward M. Schulman sold 5,945 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $205.67, for a total transaction of $1,222,708.15. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 17,617 shares in the company, valued at $3,623,288.39. The trade was a 25.23% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.48% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

AvalonBay Communities Stock Performance

Shares of AvalonBay Communities stock traded down $1.66 during trading on Monday, hitting $185.13. 825,811 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 876,853. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a quick ratio of 0.70 and a current ratio of 0.70. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $201.24 and a 200-day simple moving average of $207.28. AvalonBay Communities, Inc. has a 52-week low of $180.40 and a 52-week high of $239.29. The stock has a market capitalization of $26.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.69, a PEG ratio of 2.51 and a beta of 0.86.

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

AvalonBay Communities Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 30th were given a $1.75 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 30th. This represents a $7.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.8%. AvalonBay Communities's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 86.21%.

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.