Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd Boosts Position in AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB)

Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd grew its stake in shares of AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB - Free Report) by 4.9% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 48,476 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after acquiring an additional 2,243 shares during the quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd's holdings in AvalonBay Communities were worth $10,404,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of AvalonBay Communities during the fourth quarter valued at about $1,499,050,000. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its holdings in 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 worth $1,133,328,000 after buying an additional 1,336,698 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in AvalonBay Communities by 3.0% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,693,457 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $810,470,000 after buying an additional 107,655 shares during the period. Cohen & Steers Inc. increased its holdings in AvalonBay Communities by 25.7% in 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 buying an additional 639,402 shares during the period. Finally, Northern Trust Corp increased its holdings in AvalonBay Communities by 54.8% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 2,642,743 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $581,324,000 after buying an additional 935,770 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.61% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CFO Kevin P. O'shea sold 6,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $207.57, for a total transaction of $1,245,420.00. Following the transaction, 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Edward M. Schulman sold 5,945 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $205.67, for a total value 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. This trade represents a 25.23% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.45% of the company's stock.

AvalonBay Communities Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE AVB traded up $1.91 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $203.91. 347,838 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 744,389. The firm has a market cap of $29.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.39, a PEG ratio of 2.73 and a beta of 0.85. AvalonBay Communities, Inc. has a twelve month low of $180.40 and a twelve month high of $239.29. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $205.48 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $210.92. The company has a quick ratio of 0.51, a current ratio of 0.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70.

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, beating 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $744.61 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.70 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that AvalonBay Communities, Inc. will post 11.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AvalonBay Communities Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 30th will be given a dividend of $1.75 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 30th. This represents a $7.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.43%. AvalonBay Communities's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 87.17%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on AVB shares. Scotiabank cut their price target on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $251.00 to $236.00 and set a "sector perform" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, June 13th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $226.00 to $228.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, May 15th. Barclays increased their price target on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $227.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, May 9th. BMO Capital Markets downgraded shares of AvalonBay Communities from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating and set a $220.00 price target on the stock. in a report on Friday, April 4th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $251.00 to $249.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, June 17th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $235.86.

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.