Kentucky Retirement Systems Sells 134 Shares of AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB)

Kentucky Retirement Systems lessened its holdings in AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB) by 1.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 9,760 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 134 shares during the period. Kentucky Retirement Systems’ holdings in AvalonBay Communities were worth $2,147,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its position in AvalonBay Communities by 678.9% during the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 1,715,050 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $386,315,000 after acquiring an additional 1,494,872 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its stake in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 2.2% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 9,245,028 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $2,097,971,000 after purchasing an additional 196,938 shares during the period. KBC Group NV boosted its stake in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 284.8% during the third quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 146,429 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $32,983,000 after purchasing an additional 108,371 shares during the period. BNP Paribas Financial Markets boosted its stake in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 54.8% during the third quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 259,531 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $58,459,000 after purchasing an additional 91,861 shares during the period. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its stake in AvalonBay Communities by 40.7% in the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 314,110 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $69,148,000 after acquiring an additional 90,808 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 92.61% of the company’s stock.

AvalonBay Communities Stock Performance

AVB opened at $218.78 on Friday. AvalonBay Communities, Inc. has a 52-week low of $172.85 and a 52-week high of $239.29. The company has a quick ratio of 1.64, a current ratio of 1.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68. The company has a market cap of $31.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.12 and a beta of 0.99. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $218.76 and its 200-day moving average price is $222.96.

AvalonBay Communities (NYSE:AVB) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The real estate investment trust reported $2.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.83 by ($0.03). AvalonBay Communities had a net margin of 37.13% and a return on equity of 9.15%. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that AvalonBay Communities, Inc. will post 11.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AvalonBay Communities Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be issued a dividend of $1.75 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $7.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.20%. This is an increase from AvalonBay Communities’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.70. AvalonBay Communities’s dividend payout ratio is 89.59%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Barclays lowered their price objective on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $230.00 to $226.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday. Piper Sandler lowered their price objective on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $270.00 to $265.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Scotiabank lowered their price objective on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $244.00 to $241.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, November 14th. Mizuho raised shares of AvalonBay Communities from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $239.00 to $242.00 in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered shares of AvalonBay Communities from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and lowered their price objective for the stock from $236.00 to $223.00 in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $238.64.

About AvalonBay Communities

AvalonBay Communities, Inc is a real estate investment trust, which engages in the development, acquisition, ownership, and operation of multifamily communities. It operates through the following segments: Same Store, Other Stabilized, and Development or Redevelopment. The Same Store segment refers to the operating communities that were owned and had stabilized occupancy.