Employees Retirement System of Texas Has $18.48 Million Position in AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB)

Employees Retirement System of Texas lifted its stake in AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB) by 9.5% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 84,000 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after purchasing an additional 7,300 shares during the quarter. Employees Retirement System of Texas’ holdings in AvalonBay Communities were worth $18,477,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Whipplewood Advisors LLC acquired a new position in AvalonBay Communities in the 4th quarter worth about $36,000. Crowley Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new position in AvalonBay Communities in the fourth quarter worth approximately $44,000. Generali Asset Management SPA SGR acquired a new position in AvalonBay Communities in the fourth quarter worth approximately $66,000. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC raised its position in AvalonBay Communities by 312.5% during the fourth quarter. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC now owns 363 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $80,000 after acquiring an additional 275 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Loomis Sayles & Co. L P grew its position in AvalonBay Communities by 42.6% in the fourth quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P now owns 442 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $97,000 after acquiring an additional 132 shares in the last quarter. 92.61% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on AVB. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $226.00 to $229.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. Piper Sandler decreased their target price on AvalonBay Communities from $270.00 to $265.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Truist Financial lifted their price target on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $229.00 to $230.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, March 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of AvalonBay Communities from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price target for the company from $247.00 to $262.00 in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. Finally, Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on AvalonBay Communities from $230.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, AvalonBay Communities has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $237.40.

AvalonBay Communities Trading Down 6.9 %

Shares of AVB stock opened at $191.69 on Monday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $216.75 and a 200-day moving average of $221.56. The stock has a market cap of $27.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.26, a P/E/G ratio of 3.11 and a beta of 0.86. AvalonBay Communities, Inc. has a 52-week low of $177.40 and a 52-week high of $239.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 1.64 and a current ratio of 1.64.

AvalonBay Communities (NYSE:AVB) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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 return on equity of 9.15% and a net margin of 37.13%. On average, equities research analysts forecast that AvalonBay Communities, Inc. will post 11.48 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AvalonBay Communities Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st will be given a dividend of $1.75 per share. This represents a $7.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.65%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. This is an increase from AvalonBay Communities’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.70. AvalonBay Communities’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 92.23%.

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.