Figure 8 Investment Strategies LLC Takes $1.27 Million Position in AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB)

Figure 8 Investment Strategies LLC bought a new position in shares of AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 5,928 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock, valued at approximately $1,272,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank acquired a new position in AvalonBay Communities in the 4th quarter valued at $1,499,050,000. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its stake in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 35.0% during the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 5,152,183 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $1,133,328,000 after acquiring an additional 1,336,698 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp increased its stake in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 54.8% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 2,642,743 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $581,324,000 after acquiring an additional 935,770 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its position in AvalonBay Communities by 49.9% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,488,975 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $547,500,000 after purchasing an additional 828,009 shares during the period. Finally, Cohen & Steers Inc. grew its stake 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 worth $688,527,000 after purchasing an additional 639,402 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.61% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have weighed in on AVB. Piper Sandler lowered their target price on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $265.00 to $255.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, May 5th. Barclays upped their target price on AvalonBay Communities from $227.00 to $240.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, May 9th. Royal Bank Of Canada lowered their price objective on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $223.00 to $220.00 and set a "sector perform" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 8th. Mizuho lowered their price target 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. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded AvalonBay Communities from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, June 21st. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, AvalonBay Communities presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $235.86.

AvalonBay Communities Price Performance

Shares of NYSE AVB traded up $3.47 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $204.69. The company had a trading volume of 990,062 shares, compared to its average volume of 737,860. AvalonBay Communities, Inc. has a 1-year low of $180.40 and a 1-year high of $239.29. The company has a current ratio of 0.51, a quick ratio of 0.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70. The stock has a market cap of $29.14 billion, a PE ratio of 25.49, a P/E/G ratio of 2.74 and a beta of 0.86. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $205.68 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $211.94.

AvalonBay Communities (NYSE:AVB - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The real estate investment trust reported $2.83 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.80 by $0.03. AvalonBay Communities had a return on equity of 9.65% and a net margin of 38.86%. The firm had revenue of $693.43 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $744.61 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.70 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts anticipate that AvalonBay Communities, Inc. will post 11.48 earnings per share for the current year.

AvalonBay Communities Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 30th will be paid a dividend of $1.75 per share. This represents a $7.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.42%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 30th. AvalonBay Communities's dividend payout ratio is 87.17%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Kevin P. O'shea sold 6,000 shares of the business'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 completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 22,782 shares in the company, valued at $4,728,859.74. The trade was a 20.85% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Edward M. Schulman sold 5,945 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 17,617 shares in the company, valued at $3,623,288.39. This trade represents a 25.23% decrease in their position. 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.