Aew Capital Management L P Acquires 71,380 Shares of AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB)

Aew Capital Management L P increased its holdings in shares of AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB - Free Report) by 14.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 580,376 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after buying an additional 71,380 shares during the quarter. AvalonBay Communities accounts for about 6.2% of Aew Capital Management L P's holdings, making the stock its 6th biggest holding. Aew Capital Management L P owned approximately 0.41% of AvalonBay Communities worth $127,665,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of AVB. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 4.6% during the third quarter. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,244 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $280,000 after buying an additional 55 shares in the last quarter. Wedmont Private Capital grew its position in AvalonBay Communities by 5.3% during the 4th quarter. Wedmont Private Capital now owns 1,094 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $231,000 after acquiring an additional 55 shares during the last quarter. MAI Capital Management increased its holdings in AvalonBay Communities by 1.7% in the 3rd quarter. MAI Capital Management now owns 3,633 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $818,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A. raised its position in AvalonBay Communities by 3.1% in the third quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A. now owns 2,015 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $454,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Private Advisor Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 2.6% during the fourth quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 2,512 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $553,000 after purchasing an additional 63 shares in the last quarter. 92.61% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

AvalonBay Communities Trading Up 0.7 %

Shares of NYSE:AVB traded up $1.63 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $224.62. The company's stock had a trading volume of 807,781 shares, compared to its average volume of 635,785. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $218.92 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $223.65. AvalonBay Communities, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $177.40 and a fifty-two week high of $239.29. The firm has a market capitalization of $31.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.59, a PEG ratio of 3.11 and a beta of 0.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 1.64 and a current ratio of 1.64.

AvalonBay Communities (NYSE:AVB - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The real estate investment trust reported $2.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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, analysts forecast that AvalonBay Communities, Inc. will post 11.48 earnings per share for the current year.

AvalonBay Communities Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st will be paid a dividend of $1.75 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. This is a positive change from AvalonBay Communities's previous quarterly dividend of $1.70. This represents a $7.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.12%. AvalonBay Communities's dividend payout ratio is currently 92.23%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on AVB shares. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on AvalonBay Communities from $226.00 to $229.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Morgan Stanley cut shares of AvalonBay Communities from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and decreased their price target for the company from $236.00 to $223.00 in a research report on Friday, January 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of AvalonBay Communities from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and raised their price target for the company from $247.00 to $262.00 in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. Piper Sandler reduced their price objective on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $270.00 to $265.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, Barclays decreased their price objective on AvalonBay Communities from $230.00 to $226.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $238.64.

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.