Varma Mutual Pension Insurance Co Takes Position in AvalonBay Communities, Inc. $AVB

Varma Mutual Pension Insurance Co acquired a new stake in AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB) in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 75,961 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock, valued at approximately $14,333,000. Varma Mutual Pension Insurance Co owned 0.05% of AvalonBay Communities as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AVB. B&I Capital AG acquired a new stake in shares of AvalonBay Communities in the 1st quarter worth approximately $11,194,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in AvalonBay Communities by 9.3% during the fourth quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 4,497,047 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $815,360,000 after purchasing an additional 383,983 shares during the last quarter. Empyrean Capital Partners LP acquired a new position in AvalonBay Communities during the first quarter worth $9,474,000. Pacer Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in AvalonBay Communities by 42.5% during the fourth quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 16,167 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $2,931,000 after purchasing an additional 4,820 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its position in AvalonBay Communities by 5.1% during the fourth quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 408,956 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $73,808,000 after purchasing an additional 19,789 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.61% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on AVB shares. Truist Financial raised their price target on AvalonBay Communities from $201.00 to $202.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 16th. UBS Group cut their price target on AvalonBay Communities from $191.00 to $189.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 14th. Barclays boosted 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. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of AvalonBay Communities to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 22nd. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald restated a “neutral” rating and set a $190.00 target price on shares of AvalonBay Communities in a report on Wednesday, August 19th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and fifteen have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $196.87.

AvalonBay Communities Stock Performance

Shares of AVB opened at $184.06 on Monday. AvalonBay Communities, Inc. has a 1 year low of $160.10 and a 1 year high of $198.63. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $187.69 and its 200 day simple moving average is $180.46. The company has a market capitalization of $26.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.08, a PEG ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 0.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a current ratio of 0.54.

AvalonBay Communities (NYSE:AVB) last released its 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 during 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 in the previous year, the firm posted $2.82 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict that AvalonBay Communities, Inc. will post 11.33 EPS for the current year.

AvalonBay Communities Announces Dividend

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

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.