Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd Buys 9,762 Shares of AvalonBay Communities, Inc. $AVB

Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd increased its stake in AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB) by 90.4% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 20,558 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after buying an additional 9,762 shares during the period. Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd’s holdings in AvalonBay Communities were worth $3,971,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Metis Global Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 21.0% during the third quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC now owns 44,760 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $8,646,000 after acquiring an additional 7,780 shares in the last quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans grew its stake in AvalonBay Communities by 3.1% in the third quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 216,153 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $41,754,000 after purchasing an additional 6,511 shares in the last quarter. Sun Life Financial Inc. grew its stake in AvalonBay Communities by 5.7% in the third quarter. Sun Life Financial Inc. now owns 161,087 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $31,117,000 after purchasing an additional 8,660 shares in the last quarter. FORA Capital LLC increased its holdings in AvalonBay Communities by 78.7% during the 2nd quarter. FORA Capital LLC now owns 15,702 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $3,195,000 after purchasing an additional 6,916 shares during the period. Finally, Amundi increased its holdings in AvalonBay Communities by 17.7% during the 2nd quarter. Amundi now owns 449,348 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $90,768,000 after purchasing an additional 67,695 shares during the period. 92.61% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

AvalonBay Communities Trading Down 2.4%

NYSE:AVB opened at $161.33 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $22.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.70, a PEG ratio of 2.83 and a beta of 0.75. AvalonBay Communities, Inc. has a 52 week low of $160.72 and a 52 week high of $217.32. The company has a quick ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $175.76 and a 200 day moving average of $181.11.

AvalonBay Communities (NYSE:AVB) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 5th. The real estate investment trust reported $2.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.84 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $767.86 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $766.38 million. AvalonBay Communities had a net margin of 34.57% and a return on equity of 8.78%. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.80 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that AvalonBay Communities, Inc. will post 11.48 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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 paid a dividend of $1.78 per share. This is a positive change from AvalonBay Communities’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.75. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 31st. This represents a $7.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.4%. AvalonBay Communities’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 85.47%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have weighed in on AVB. Scotiabank lowered their target price on AvalonBay Communities from $193.00 to $190.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, March 4th. Cantor Fitzgerald raised their price target on AvalonBay Communities from $179.00 to $186.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, February 9th. Truist Financial decreased their price objective on AvalonBay Communities from $203.00 to $201.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, March 3rd. UBS Group dropped their target price on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $192.00 to $191.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 8th. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut their target price on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $222.50 to $208.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 16th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and thirteen have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $198.75.

AvalonBay Communities Company 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.