Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund Buys 11,489 Shares of AvalonBay Communities, Inc. $AVB

Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund increased its stake in AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB) by 41.9% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 38,927 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after acquiring an additional 11,489 shares during the period. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund’s holdings in AvalonBay Communities were worth $7,520,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in AVB. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of AvalonBay Communities in the 2nd quarter worth about $1,394,225,000. Invesco Ltd. lifted its position in AvalonBay Communities by 70.2% in the 2nd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 2,593,727 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $527,823,000 after buying an additional 1,069,793 shares during the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE boosted its stake in AvalonBay Communities by 77.1% in the second quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 1,338,552 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $272,395,000 after buying an additional 582,724 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in AvalonBay Communities by 23.2% during the second quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,816,163 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $573,091,000 after acquiring an additional 530,274 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bahl & Gaynor Inc. bought a new position in AvalonBay Communities during the second quarter valued at approximately $49,943,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.61% of the company’s stock.

AvalonBay Communities Stock Performance

AvalonBay Communities stock opened at $176.11 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.67, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79. The firm has a market cap of $24.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.86, a P/E/G ratio of 3.08 and a beta of 0.76. AvalonBay Communities, Inc. has a 1-year low of $166.73 and a 1-year high of $230.21. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $178.74 and a 200-day moving average of $184.02.

AvalonBay Communities (NYSE:AVB) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 5th. The real estate investment trust reported $2.85 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.84 by $0.01. AvalonBay Communities had a return on equity of 8.78% and a net margin of 34.57%.The business had revenue of $767.86 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $766.38 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.80 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that AvalonBay Communities, Inc. will post 11.48 EPS for the current year.

AvalonBay Communities Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 31st will be issued a dividend of $1.78 per share. This is a boost from AvalonBay Communities’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.75. This represents a $7.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.0%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 31st. AvalonBay Communities’s dividend payout ratio is currently 94.85%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on AVB. Piper Sandler cut their price objective on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $190.00 to $183.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, February 9th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of AvalonBay Communities from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, February 7th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of AvalonBay Communities in a research note on Friday, January 9th. Barclays lifted their price objective on AvalonBay Communities from $216.00 to $217.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 13th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada dropped their target price on AvalonBay Communities from $191.00 to $187.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 6th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and thirteen have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, AvalonBay Communities presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $200.91.

AvalonBay Communities Profile

AvalonBay Communities, Inc (NYSE: AVB) is a publicly traded real estate investment trust (REIT) that owns, develops, redevelops and manages multifamily residential properties. The company focuses on professionally managed apartment communities, offering a range of rental housing options and related resident services. As a REIT, AvalonBay’s core activities center on the acquisition and development of apartment assets and the ongoing operations and leasing of those communities.

AvalonBay’s operating activities include ground-up development, strategic redevelopment of existing properties, property and asset management, and on-site leasing and resident services.