XTX Topco Ltd Takes $899,000 Position in AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB)

XTX Topco Ltd bought a new stake in AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 4,088 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock, valued at approximately $899,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of AvalonBay Communities in the 4th quarter worth about $1,499,050,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its position in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 4,590,539 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $1,009,781,000 after purchasing an additional 27,629 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its stake in AvalonBay Communities by 1.4% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 4,060,497 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $914,627,000 after buying an additional 55,588 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in AvalonBay Communities by 3.0% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,693,457 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $810,470,000 after buying an additional 107,655 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cohen & Steers Inc. increased its position in AvalonBay Communities by 25.7% during the fourth quarter. Cohen & Steers Inc. now owns 3,130,108 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $688,527,000 after buying an additional 639,402 shares in the last quarter. 92.61% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently commented on AVB. Morgan Stanley cut 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 report on Friday, January 24th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $226.00 to $229.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Barclays boosted their price target on AvalonBay Communities from $226.00 to $227.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, April 11th. BMO Capital Markets downgraded AvalonBay Communities from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating and set a $220.00 price objective for the company. in a research report on Friday, April 4th. Finally, Evercore ISI increased their target price on AvalonBay Communities from $230.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock an "in-line" rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, AvalonBay Communities currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $237.47.

AvalonBay Communities Stock Performance

NYSE:AVB traded up $4.06 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $205.85. 91,204 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 693,392. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $29.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.11, a P/E/G ratio of 3.11 and a beta of 0.86. AvalonBay Communities, Inc. has a 52 week low of $180.40 and a 52 week high of $239.29. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $210.76 and a 200-day simple moving average of $218.91.

AvalonBay Communities (NYSE:AVB - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly 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, sell-side analysts forecast that AvalonBay Communities, Inc. will post 11.48 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AvalonBay Communities Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st were issued a dividend of $1.75 per share. This is an increase from AvalonBay Communities's previous quarterly dividend of $1.70. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 31st. This represents a $7.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.40%. AvalonBay Communities's payout ratio is 92.23%.

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.