Pacer Advisors Inc. Boosts Holdings in AvalonBay Communities, Inc. $AVB

Pacer Advisors Inc. grew its stake in shares of AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB) by 42.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 16,167 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after buying an additional 4,820 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc.’s holdings in AvalonBay Communities were worth $2,931,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of AVB. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. grew its stake in AvalonBay Communities by 1.8% during the third quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 3,358 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $649,000 after acquiring an additional 60 shares in the last quarter. Keybank National Association OH lifted its stake in AvalonBay Communities by 2.6% in the 4th quarter. Keybank National Association OH now owns 2,458 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $446,000 after purchasing an additional 62 shares in the last quarter. Phoenix Financial Ltd. lifted its stake in AvalonBay Communities by 5.7% in the 4th quarter. Phoenix Financial Ltd. now owns 1,713 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $311,000 after purchasing an additional 92 shares in the last quarter. New Mexico Educational Retirement Board boosted its holdings in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 1.6% during the 4th quarter. New Mexico Educational Retirement Board now owns 6,527 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $1,183,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund boosted its holdings in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund now owns 29,971 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $5,434,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.61% of the company’s stock.

AvalonBay Communities Trading Up 1.4%

Shares of NYSE AVB opened at $182.33 on Wednesday. AvalonBay Communities, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $160.10 and a fifty-two week high of $208.75. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a current ratio of 0.62. The company has a market cap of $25.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.42, a PEG ratio of 3.13 and a beta of 0.78. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $181.79 and its 200-day moving average price is $177.63.

AvalonBay Communities (NYSE:AVB) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 28th. The real estate investment trust reported $2.33 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.80 by ($0.47). AvalonBay Communities had a net margin of 37.21% and a return on equity of 9.56%. The business had revenue of $770.28 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $768.80 million. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.83 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that AvalonBay Communities, Inc. will post 11.28 earnings per share for the current year.

AvalonBay Communities Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 30th will be issued a $1.78 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, June 30th. This represents a $7.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.9%. AvalonBay Communities’s dividend payout ratio is presently 103.19%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AVB has been the topic of several research reports. Scotiabank reduced their target price on AvalonBay Communities from $190.00 to $187.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 14th. Wolfe Research upgraded AvalonBay Communities from an “outperform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $209.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Monday, June 1st. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating and issued a $203.00 price objective (down from $208.00) on shares of AvalonBay Communities in a research note on Thursday, March 26th. Cantor Fitzgerald boosted their target price on AvalonBay Communities from $186.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, May 4th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $193.00 to $191.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 23rd. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and thirteen have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $195.13.

AvalonBay Communities Profile

AvalonBay Communities, Inc (NYSE: AVB) is a publicly traded real estate investment trust (REIT) that owns, develops, redevelops and manages multifamily residential properties. The company focuses on professionally managed apartment communities, offering a range of rental housing options and related resident services. As a REIT, AvalonBay’s core activities center on the acquisition and development of apartment assets and the ongoing operations and leasing of those communities.

AvalonBay’s operating activities include ground-up development, strategic redevelopment of existing properties, property and asset management, and on-site leasing and resident services.