Maryland State Retirement & Pension System Has $1.67 Million Stake in AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB)

Maryland State Retirement & Pension System trimmed its position in shares of AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB) by 6.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 7,574 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 530 shares during the period. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System’s holdings in AvalonBay Communities were worth $1,666,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 4.6% in the 3rd quarter. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,244 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $280,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares in the last quarter. Wedmont Private Capital boosted its stake in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 5.3% in the 4th quarter. Wedmont Private Capital now owns 1,094 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $231,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares in the last quarter. MAI Capital Management boosted its stake in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 1.7% in the 3rd quarter. MAI Capital Management now owns 3,633 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $818,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A. boosted its stake in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 3.1% in the 3rd quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A. now owns 2,015 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $454,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Signaturefd LLC boosted its stake in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 4.0% in the 4th quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 1,616 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $356,000 after purchasing an additional 62 shares in the last quarter. 92.61% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AVB has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Truist Financial raised their price target on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $229.00 to $230.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, March 10th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $226.00 to $229.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. Barclays dropped their price objective on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $230.00 to $226.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Mizuho upgraded shares of AvalonBay Communities from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $239.00 to $242.00 in a report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Zelman & Associates upgraded shares of AvalonBay Communities from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $238.64.

AvalonBay Communities Stock Down 0.9 %

AvalonBay Communities stock opened at $209.49 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 1.64 and a current ratio of 1.64. AvalonBay Communities, Inc. has a 52-week low of $177.40 and a 52-week high of $239.29. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $217.90 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $222.93. The firm has a market cap of $29.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.60, a PEG ratio of 3.11 and a beta of 1.00.

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

AvalonBay Communities Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be paid a $1.75 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $7.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.34%. This is a positive change from AvalonBay Communities’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.70. AvalonBay Communities’s payout ratio is currently 92.23%.

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.