GF Fund Management CO. LTD. Acquires Shares of 2,584 AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB)

GF Fund Management CO. LTD. acquired a new stake in shares of AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 2,584 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock, valued at approximately $568,000.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Ancora Advisors LLC boosted its stake in AvalonBay Communities by 1,666.7% during the 4th quarter. Ancora Advisors LLC now owns 159 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 150 shares during the last quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC bought a new position in AvalonBay Communities during the 4th quarter valued at $36,000. Crowley Wealth Management Inc. bought a new position in AvalonBay Communities during the 4th quarter valued at $44,000. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. bought a new position in AvalonBay Communities during the 4th quarter valued at $53,000. Finally, Continuum Advisory LLC raised its holdings in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 12,200.0% during the fourth quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC now owns 246 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $54,000 after purchasing an additional 244 shares during the period. 92.61% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have weighed in on the stock. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $226.00 to $228.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, May 15th. Mizuho dropped their target price on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $238.00 to $213.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday. Scotiabank increased their target price on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $241.00 to $251.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Monday, May 12th. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their target price on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $223.00 to $220.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 8th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets cut shares of AvalonBay Communities from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and set a $220.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Friday, April 4th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, AvalonBay Communities has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $237.86.

AvalonBay Communities Stock Down 0.9%

AVB stock opened at $198.13 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.64, a current ratio of 1.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68. AvalonBay Communities, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $180.40 and a fifty-two week high of $239.29. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $205.10 and its 200 day simple moving average is $216.00. The stock has a market cap of $28.21 billion, a PE ratio of 26.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.11 and a beta of 0.86.

AvalonBay Communities (NYSE:AVB) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The real estate investment trust reported $2.83 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.80 by $0.03. AvalonBay Communities had a net margin of 37.13% and a return on equity of 9.15%. The business had revenue of $693.43 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $744.61 million. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.70 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that AvalonBay Communities, Inc. will post 11.48 EPS for the current year.

AvalonBay Communities Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Investors of record on Monday, June 30th will be issued a $1.75 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 30th. This represents a $7.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.53%. AvalonBay Communities’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 87.17%.

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.