Legal & General Group Plc Reduces Stock Position in AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB)

Legal & General Group Plc lowered its holdings in AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB - Free Report) by 10.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 2,192,494 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after selling 253,786 shares during the quarter. Legal & General Group Plc owned about 1.54% of AvalonBay Communities worth $482,283,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Invesco Ltd. increased its stake in AvalonBay Communities by 13.4% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,449,566 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $318,861,000 after purchasing an additional 170,952 shares during the last quarter. Employees Retirement System of Texas boosted its holdings in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 9.5% in the 4th quarter. Employees Retirement System of Texas now owns 84,000 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $18,477,000 after buying an additional 7,300 shares in the last quarter. Polymer Capital Management US LLC purchased a new position in shares of AvalonBay Communities in the 4th quarter valued at $826,000. Quadrant Capital Group LLC raised its stake in AvalonBay Communities by 8.1% during the 4th quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 1,111 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $244,000 after acquiring an additional 83 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd lifted its position in AvalonBay Communities by 121.8% in the fourth quarter. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd now owns 2,125 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $467,000 after acquiring an additional 1,167 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 Performance

NYSE AVB traded down $0.64 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $192.95. 1,234,629 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 691,755. 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 company has a market cap of $27.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.11 and a beta of 0.86. AvalonBay Communities, Inc. has a 12-month low of $177.40 and a 12-month high of $239.29. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $213.02 and a 200 day moving average of $219.85.

AvalonBay Communities (NYSE:AVB - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The real estate investment trust reported $2.80 earnings per share (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%. As a group, equities research 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. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be given 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 3.63%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. AvalonBay Communities's payout ratio is presently 92.23%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have issued reports on AVB. BMO Capital Markets lowered AvalonBay Communities from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating and set a $220.00 price objective on the stock. in a report on Friday, April 4th. Piper Sandler dropped their price target on AvalonBay Communities from $270.00 to $265.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Morgan Stanley cut AvalonBay Communities from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $236.00 to $223.00 in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Barclays increased their price objective on AvalonBay Communities from $226.00 to $227.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday. Finally, Evercore ISI lifted their target price on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $230.00 to $240.00 and gave the company an "in-line" rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $237.47.

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.