Norges Bank Purchases New Position in AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB)

Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 6,814,794 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock, valued at approximately $1,499,050,000. Norges Bank owned about 4.79% of AvalonBay Communities as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC bought a new stake in AvalonBay Communities in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $26,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of AvalonBay Communities in the fourth quarter worth $36,000. Brooklyn Investment Group purchased a new stake in AvalonBay Communities during the third quarter valued at $39,000. Crowley Wealth Management Inc. bought a new position in AvalonBay Communities in the fourth quarter valued at about $44,000. Finally, Generali Asset Management SPA SGR purchased a new position in AvalonBay Communities in the fourth quarter worth about $66,000. Institutional investors own 92.61% of the company's stock.

AvalonBay Communities Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:AVB traded up $0.36 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $213.50. 452,396 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 669,360. The stock has a market cap of $30.37 billion, a PE ratio of 28.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.11 and a beta of 1.00. The business's fifty day moving average is $217.50 and its two-hundred day moving average is $222.45. AvalonBay Communities, Inc. has a one year low of $177.40 and a one year high of $239.29. The company has a current ratio of 1.64, a quick ratio of 1.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68.

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AvalonBay Communities (NYSE:AVB - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The real estate investment trust reported $2.80 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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, analysts predict that AvalonBay Communities, Inc. will post 11.48 earnings per share for the current year.

AvalonBay Communities Increases Dividend

The company 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 $1.75 dividend. This is an increase from AvalonBay Communities's previous quarterly dividend of $1.70. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $7.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.28%. AvalonBay Communities's payout ratio is presently 92.23%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have commented on the stock. Evercore ISI upped 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. Truist Financial upped their price objective on AvalonBay Communities from $229.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, March 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded AvalonBay Communities from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and lifted their target price for the company from $247.00 to $262.00 in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. Mizuho upgraded AvalonBay Communities from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and upped their price target for the stock from $239.00 to $242.00 in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Barclays lowered their price objective on AvalonBay Communities from $230.00 to $226.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $238.64.

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.