AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB) Shares Acquired by Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V.

Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. raised its stake in shares of AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB - Free Report) by 0.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 338,796 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after acquiring an additional 2,209 shares during the quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. owned approximately 0.24% of AvalonBay Communities worth $74,525,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of AVB. Creative Planning boosted its position in AvalonBay Communities by 24.4% during the 2nd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 8,596 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $1,778,000 after acquiring an additional 1,684 shares in the last quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of AvalonBay Communities in the 2nd quarter worth $3,701,000. Czech National Bank boosted its position in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 6.9% in the 3rd quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 28,932 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $6,517,000 after purchasing an additional 1,874 shares in the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC boosted its position in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 958.9% in the 3rd quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 172,618 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $38,882,000 after purchasing an additional 156,316 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Handelsbanken Fonder AB boosted its position in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 2.5% in the 3rd quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 84,068 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $18,936,000 after purchasing an additional 2,074 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.61% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other AvalonBay Communities news, Director Timothy J. Naughton sold 23,697 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $233.47, for a total transaction of $5,532,538.59. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 87,239 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,367,689.33. The trade was a 21.36 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.42% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

AvalonBay Communities Price Performance

Shares of AvalonBay Communities stock traded up $4.64 on Thursday, hitting $219.59. The company's stock had a trading volume of 664,411 shares, compared to its average volume of 572,764. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a quick ratio of 1.64 and a current ratio of 1.64. AvalonBay Communities, Inc. has a 1 year low of $169.37 and a 1 year high of $239.29. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $222.37 and a 200-day moving average price of $221.46. The company has a market capitalization of $31.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 0.99.

AvalonBay Communities (NYSE:AVB - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The real estate investment trust reported $2.61 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.71 by ($0.10). AvalonBay Communities had a net margin of 36.20% and a return on equity of 8.84%. The business had revenue of $734.31 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $731.67 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.66 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that AvalonBay Communities, Inc. will post 11.04 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AvalonBay Communities Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 31st were paid a $1.70 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, December 31st. This represents a $6.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.10%. AvalonBay Communities's dividend payout ratio is presently 93.02%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AVB has been the subject of a number of research reports. Scotiabank lowered their price target on AvalonBay Communities from $244.00 to $241.00 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, November 14th. Morgan Stanley cut AvalonBay Communities from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and lowered their price target for the stock from $236.00 to $223.00 in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Barclays lowered their price target on AvalonBay Communities from $243.00 to $230.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Mizuho raised AvalonBay Communities from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $239.00 to $242.00 in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price target on AvalonBay Communities from $234.00 to $233.00 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, AvalonBay Communities presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $234.60.

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.