Legal & General Group Plc Purchases New Holdings in AvalonBay Communities, Inc. $AVB

Legal & General Group Plc acquired a new stake in shares of AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB) in the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm acquired 1,943,251 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock, valued at approximately $366,672,000.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Reflection Asset Management acquired a new position in shares of AvalonBay Communities in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Clearstead Trust LLC lifted its holdings in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 56.0% during the first quarter. Clearstead Trust LLC now owns 156 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 56 shares during the period. Zions Bancorporation National Association UT grew its position in AvalonBay Communities by 300.0% in the 4th quarter. Zions Bancorporation National Association UT now owns 160 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 120 shares during the last quarter. BOKF NA purchased a new position in AvalonBay Communities in the 3rd quarter valued at $31,000. Finally, Elyxium Wealth LLC acquired a new position in AvalonBay Communities in the 4th quarter valued at $32,000. 92.61% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

AvalonBay Communities Stock Performance

Shares of AVB opened at $184.06 on Wednesday. AvalonBay Communities, Inc. has a twelve month low of $160.10 and a twelve month high of $198.63. The company has a current ratio of 0.54, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74. The firm has a market capitalization of $26.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.08, a PEG ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 0.76. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $187.67 and its two-hundred day moving average is $180.57.

AvalonBay Communities (NYSE:AVB) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 23rd. The real estate investment trust reported $1.11 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.23 by ($0.12). The firm had revenue of $777.77 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $772.37 million. AvalonBay Communities had a return on equity of 8.58% and a net margin of 33.33%.During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.82 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that AvalonBay Communities, Inc. will post 11.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AvalonBay Communities Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 30th were given a $1.78 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, June 30th. This represents a $7.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.9%. AvalonBay Communities’s payout ratio is currently 116.34%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have commented on AVB. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $205.00 to $206.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, August 17th. Wolfe Research raised shares of AvalonBay Communities from an “outperform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $209.00 target price on the stock in a report on Monday, June 1st. UBS Group dropped their price target on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $191.00 to $189.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 14th. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of AvalonBay Communities to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Finally, Scotiabank raised their price objective on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $187.00 to $195.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 9th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and fifteen have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $196.87.

About AvalonBay Communities

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.