Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board Sells 3,823 Shares of AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB)

Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board lowered its position in AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB - Free Report) by 66.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,915 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after selling 3,823 shares during the period. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board's holdings in AvalonBay Communities were worth $421,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of AVB. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of AvalonBay Communities in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,499,050,000. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its holdings in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 49.9% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,488,975 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $547,500,000 after purchasing an additional 828,009 shares in the last quarter. Cohen & Steers Inc. increased its holdings in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 25.7% in the fourth quarter. Cohen & Steers Inc. now owns 3,130,108 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $688,527,000 after purchasing an additional 639,402 shares in the last quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 51.7% in the fourth quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 554,290 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $121,927,000 after purchasing an additional 188,906 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 13.4% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,449,566 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $318,861,000 after purchasing an additional 170,952 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.61% of the company's stock.

AvalonBay Communities Stock Up 0.3 %

AVB stock traded up $0.57 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $207.01. The company had a trading volume of 188,897 shares, compared to its average volume of 756,054. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 1.64 and a quick ratio of 1.64. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $210.49 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $218.82. The company has a market capitalization of $29.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.27, a PEG ratio of 3.11 and a beta of 0.86. 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 posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The real estate investment trust reported $2.80 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $2.83 by ($0.03). AvalonBay Communities had a net margin of 37.13% and a return on equity of 9.15%. As a group, equities analysts predict that AvalonBay Communities, Inc. will post 11.48 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AvalonBay Communities Increases Dividend

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently weighed in on AVB shares. Truist Financial raised their price target on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $229.00 to $230.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, March 10th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on AvalonBay Communities from $226.00 to $229.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Morgan Stanley lowered AvalonBay Communities from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and cut their target price for the company from $236.00 to $223.00 in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Evercore ISI increased their target price on AvalonBay Communities from $230.00 to $240.00 and gave the company an "in-line" rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Zelman & Associates raised AvalonBay Communities from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $237.47.

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.