Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund Buys 17,450 Shares of AvalonBay Communities, Inc. $AVB

Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund raised its stake in shares of AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB) by 58.2% in the first quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 47,421 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after buying an additional 17,450 shares during the quarter. Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund’s holdings in AvalonBay Communities were worth $7,746,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in AVB. Reflection Asset Management bought a new position in shares of AvalonBay Communities during the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. Zions Bancorporation National Association UT raised its position in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 300.0% in the 4th quarter. Zions Bancorporation National Association UT now owns 160 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 120 shares during the last quarter. BOKF NA purchased a new position in shares of AvalonBay Communities in the 3rd quarter worth about $31,000. Elyxium Wealth LLC bought a new position in AvalonBay Communities in the 4th quarter worth about $32,000. Finally, Headlands Technologies LLC bought a new position in AvalonBay Communities in the 2nd quarter worth about $36,000. 92.61% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

AvalonBay Communities Trading Down 0.2%

Shares of NYSE:AVB opened at $193.62 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 0.62 and a quick ratio of 0.62. AvalonBay Communities, Inc. has a 1 year low of $160.10 and a 1 year high of $205.00. The company has a market cap of $26.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.06, a PEG ratio of 3.38 and a beta of 0.77. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $184.68 and its 200-day moving average price is $178.35.

AvalonBay Communities (NYSE:AVB) last released 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 return on equity of 9.56% and a net margin of 37.21%.The business had revenue of $770.28 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $768.80 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $2.83 earnings per share. 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 dividend of $1.78 per share. This represents a $7.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, June 30th. AvalonBay Communities’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 103.19%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have weighed in on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of AvalonBay Communities to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, June 26th. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating and issued a $203.00 target price (down from $208.00) on shares of AvalonBay Communities in a report on Thursday, March 26th. Barclays dropped their target price on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $206.00 to $203.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, May 11th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $193.00 to $191.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 23rd. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of AvalonBay Communities from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 9th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and fourteen have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $195.13.

AvalonBay Communities Company 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.