Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. Reduces Stake in AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB)

Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. reduced its holdings in shares of AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB - Free Report) by 9.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 187,458 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after selling 20,067 shares during the quarter. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. owned approximately 0.13% of AvalonBay Communities worth $41,235,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of AvalonBay Communities in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,499,050,000. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its position in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 35.0% during the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 5,152,183 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $1,133,328,000 after acquiring an additional 1,336,698 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its holdings in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 49.9% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,488,975 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $547,500,000 after purchasing an additional 828,009 shares in the last quarter. Cohen & Steers Inc. increased its position 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 worth $688,527,000 after purchasing an additional 639,402 shares during the period. Finally, Daiwa Securities Group Inc. raised its stake in 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. 92.61% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

AvalonBay Communities Stock Up 1.0 %

Shares of NYSE AVB traded up $2.11 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $207.87. 510,379 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 690,240. 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, Inc. has a one year low of $180.40 and a one year high of $239.29. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $209.80 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $218.59. The company has a market cap of $29.59 billion, a PE ratio of 27.39, a P/E/G ratio of 3.11 and a beta of 0.86.

AvalonBay Communities (NYSE:AVB - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The real estate investment trust reported $2.80 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $2.83 by ($0.03). AvalonBay Communities had a return on equity of 9.15% and a net margin of 37.13%. On average, equities analysts predict that AvalonBay Communities, Inc. will post 11.48 EPS for the current year.

AvalonBay Communities Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st were issued a $1.75 dividend. This represents a $7.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.37%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 31st. This is a boost from AvalonBay Communities's previous quarterly dividend of $1.70. AvalonBay Communities's payout ratio is 92.23%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Zelman & Associates raised shares of AvalonBay Communities from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. BMO Capital Markets cut shares of AvalonBay Communities from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating and set a $220.00 target price for the company. in a report on Friday, April 4th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $226.00 to $229.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. Morgan Stanley downgraded shares of AvalonBay Communities from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $236.00 to $223.00 in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Mizuho raised shares of AvalonBay Communities from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $239.00 to $242.00 in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, AvalonBay Communities currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $237.47.

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.