AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB) Shares Bought by State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D

State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D increased its holdings in shares of AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB - Free Report) by 4.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 84,050 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after buying an additional 3,500 shares during the quarter. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D owned about 0.06% of AvalonBay Communities worth $18,488,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AVB. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its position in AvalonBay Communities by 678.9% during the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 1,715,050 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $386,315,000 after buying an additional 1,494,872 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of AvalonBay Communities in the 3rd quarter worth about $581,960,000. State Street Corp raised its holdings in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 2.2% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 9,245,028 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $2,097,971,000 after purchasing an additional 196,938 shares during the period. KBC Group NV raised its holdings in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 284.8% in the 3rd quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 146,429 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $32,983,000 after purchasing an additional 108,371 shares during the period. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its holdings in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 54.8% in the 3rd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 259,531 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $58,459,000 after purchasing an additional 91,861 shares during the period. 92.61% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

AvalonBay Communities Stock Down 0.3 %

NYSE AVB traded down $0.60 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $218.78. 587,194 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 631,747. AvalonBay Communities, Inc. has a 1-year low of $172.85 and a 1-year high of $239.29. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $218.76 and a 200-day simple moving average of $222.86. The company has a current ratio of 1.64, a quick ratio of 1.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68. The company has a market cap of $31.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.82, a P/E/G ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 0.99.

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 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates 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, equities research analysts expect that AvalonBay Communities, Inc. will post 11.48 EPS for the current year.

AvalonBay Communities Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be paid a dividend of $1.75 per share. This represents a $7.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.20%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. This is a positive change from AvalonBay Communities's previous quarterly dividend of $1.70. AvalonBay Communities's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 92.23%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the company. Mizuho upgraded AvalonBay Communities from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $239.00 to $242.00 in a report on Monday, January 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded AvalonBay Communities from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $247.00 to $262.00 in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. Evercore ISI raised their price objective on AvalonBay Communities from $230.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock an "in-line" rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. Zelman & Associates upgraded AvalonBay Communities from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Scotiabank cut their price objective on AvalonBay Communities from $244.00 to $241.00 and set a "sector perform" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, November 14th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, AvalonBay Communities currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $235.47.

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.