Canada Pension Plan Investment Board Trims Stake in AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB)

Canada Pension Plan Investment Board trimmed its position in AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB - Free Report) by 0.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 2,019,317 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after selling 15,085 shares during the period. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board owned about 1.42% of AvalonBay Communities worth $444,189,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of AvalonBay Communities in the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,499,050,000. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its stake 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 acquiring an additional 828,009 shares during the last quarter. Cohen & Steers Inc. grew its position in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 25.7% during the 4th quarter. Cohen & Steers Inc. now owns 3,130,108 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $688,527,000 after acquiring an additional 639,402 shares during the period. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 51.7% in the 4th quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 554,290 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $121,927,000 after purchasing an additional 188,906 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. raised its holdings in AvalonBay Communities by 13.4% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,449,566 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $318,861,000 after purchasing an additional 170,952 shares during the period. 92.61% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Piper Sandler cut their price objective on AvalonBay Communities from $270.00 to $265.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Mizuho raised AvalonBay Communities from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $239.00 to $242.00 in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Zelman & Associates raised AvalonBay Communities from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Truist Financial boosted their price target on AvalonBay Communities from $229.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, March 10th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on AvalonBay Communities from $226.00 to $229.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $237.47.

AvalonBay Communities Trading Up 1.4 %

AVB traded up $2.87 during trading on Friday, reaching $202.93. The company had a trading volume of 1,172,919 shares, compared to its average volume of 695,956. The company has a quick ratio of 1.64, a current ratio of 1.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $211.08 and a 200-day simple moving average of $219.06. The stock has a market cap of $28.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.74, 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 released its quarterly earnings results 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 anticipate that AvalonBay Communities, Inc. will post 11.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AvalonBay Communities Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st were given a $1.75 dividend. This represents a $7.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.45%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 31st. This is an increase from AvalonBay Communities's previous quarterly dividend of $1.70. AvalonBay Communities's dividend payout ratio is 92.23%.

AvalonBay Communities 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.