Principal Financial Group Inc. Has $1.01 Billion Holdings in AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB)

Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB - Free Report) by 0.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 4,590,539 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after purchasing an additional 27,629 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned 3.23% of AvalonBay Communities worth $1,009,781,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D raised its holdings in AvalonBay Communities by 4.3% during the fourth quarter. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D now owns 84,050 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $18,488,000 after buying an additional 3,500 shares in the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP raised its holdings in AvalonBay Communities by 47.8% during the fourth quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 761 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $163,000 after buying an additional 246 shares in the last quarter. Principal Securities Inc. raised its holdings in AvalonBay Communities by 8.8% during the fourth quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 916 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $202,000 after buying an additional 74 shares in the last quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. raised its holdings in AvalonBay Communities by 1.3% during the fourth quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 280,771 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $62,101,000 after buying an additional 3,534 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Avestar Capital LLC bought a new position in AvalonBay Communities during the fourth quarter valued at about $245,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.61% of the company's stock.

AvalonBay Communities Stock Performance

AVB traded up $0.33 on Wednesday, hitting $218.34. 152,862 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 629,233. AvalonBay Communities, Inc. has a 52 week low of $172.85 and a 52 week 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. The firm has a market capitalization of $31.06 billion, a PE ratio of 28.76, a P/E/G ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 0.99. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $219.26 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $222.82.

AvalonBay Communities (NYSE:AVB - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The real estate investment trust reported $2.80 earnings per share (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%. On average, research analysts predict that AvalonBay Communities, Inc. will post 11.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AvalonBay Communities Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be issued a dividend of $1.75 per share. This represents a $7.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.21%. 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. AvalonBay Communities's payout ratio is presently 89.59%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have weighed in on AVB shares. Mizuho upgraded AvalonBay Communities from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and raised their target price for the company from $239.00 to $242.00 in a report on Monday, January 6th. Zelman & Associates upgraded AvalonBay Communities from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Morgan Stanley lowered AvalonBay Communities from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $236.00 to $223.00 in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Scotiabank dropped their price objective on AvalonBay Communities from $244.00 to $241.00 and set a "sector perform" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, November 14th. Finally, Piper Sandler dropped their price objective 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. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $235.47.

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.