USS Investment Management Ltd Increases Stock Holdings in AvalonBay Communities, Inc. $AVB

USS Investment Management Ltd grew its stake in AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB) by 9.5% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 37,502 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,267 shares during the period. USS Investment Management Ltd’s holdings in AvalonBay Communities were worth $6,124,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Auto Owners Insurance Co increased its stake in AvalonBay Communities by 18,031.0% in the 4th quarter. Auto Owners Insurance Co now owns 11,785,150 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $213,677,000 after buying an additional 11,720,150 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of AvalonBay Communities in the fourth quarter valued at about $1,394,635,000. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its stake in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 15,065.6% during the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 1,801,071 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $326,552,000 after acquiring an additional 1,789,195 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE increased its stake in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 76.0% during the third quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 2,355,838 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $455,077,000 after acquiring an additional 1,017,286 shares during the period. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its holdings in AvalonBay Communities by 22.4% during the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 5,159,950 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $935,551,000 after purchasing an additional 944,129 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.61% of the company’s stock.

AvalonBay Communities Stock Up 1.7%

Shares of NYSE:AVB opened at $193.62 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 0.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80. The company has a market capitalization of $26.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.06, a P/E/G ratio of 3.32 and a beta of 0.77. AvalonBay Communities, Inc. has a 52-week low of $160.10 and a 52-week high of $205.00. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $184.23 and its 200-day simple moving average is $178.24.

AvalonBay Communities (NYSE:AVB) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The real estate investment trust reported $2.33 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.80 by ($0.47). AvalonBay Communities had a net margin of 37.21% and a return on equity of 9.56%. The firm had revenue of $770.28 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $768.80 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.83 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that AvalonBay Communities, Inc. will post 11.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AvalonBay Communities Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 30th will be paid a dividend of $1.78 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, June 30th. This represents a $7.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.7%. AvalonBay Communities’s dividend payout ratio is presently 103.19%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AVB has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Cantor Fitzgerald lifted their price objective on AvalonBay Communities from $186.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, May 4th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of AvalonBay Communities in a research note on Wednesday, April 8th. Barclays reduced their price target on AvalonBay Communities from $206.00 to $203.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, May 11th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded AvalonBay Communities to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, June 26th. Finally, Piper Sandler upped their price objective on AvalonBay Communities from $183.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, May 29th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and fourteen have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $195.13.

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.