Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC Acquires New Shares in AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB)

Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC bought a new position in AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 21,275 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock, valued at approximately $4,680,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 4.6% in the third quarter. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,244 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $280,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares during the period. Wedmont Private Capital increased its stake in AvalonBay Communities by 5.3% in the fourth quarter. Wedmont Private Capital now owns 1,094 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $231,000 after acquiring an additional 55 shares during the period. MAI Capital Management grew its stake in shares of 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 valued at $818,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares during the period. Raymond James Trust N.A. boosted its stake in AvalonBay Communities by 3.1% in the 3rd quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A. now owns 2,015 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $454,000 after buying an additional 60 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Signaturefd LLC grew its holdings in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 4.0% in the 4th quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 1,616 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $356,000 after purchasing an additional 62 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.61% of the company's stock.

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AvalonBay Communities Stock Up 0.6 %

Shares of AvalonBay Communities stock traded up $1.17 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $213.83. 712,667 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 630,414. AvalonBay Communities, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $177.40 and a fifty-two week high of $239.29. The stock has a market cap of $30.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.17, a P/E/G ratio of 3.11 and a beta of 1.00. 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 50 day moving average of $217.75 and a two-hundred day moving average of $222.70.

AvalonBay Communities (NYSE:AVB - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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 return on equity of 9.15% and a net margin of 37.13%. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that AvalonBay Communities, Inc. will post 11.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AvalonBay Communities Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be issued a dividend of $1.75 per share. This is a positive change from AvalonBay Communities's previous quarterly dividend of $1.70. This represents a $7.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.27%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. AvalonBay Communities's dividend payout ratio is 92.23%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Truist Financial raised their price objective on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $229.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, March 10th. Evercore ISI boosted 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. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target 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 downgraded shares of AvalonBay Communities from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and cut their price target for the company from $236.00 to $223.00 in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Zelman & Associates raised AvalonBay Communities from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, AvalonBay Communities presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price 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.