New Mexico Educational Retirement Board Sells 200 Shares of AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB)

New Mexico Educational Retirement Board lowered its position in AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB) by 2.9% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 6,727 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 200 shares during the quarter. New Mexico Educational Retirement Board’s holdings in AvalonBay Communities were worth $1,480,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in AVB. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC bought a new position in AvalonBay Communities during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Brooklyn Investment Group bought a new position in AvalonBay Communities during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Prospera Private Wealth LLC bought a new position in AvalonBay Communities during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $51,000. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB increased its position in AvalonBay Communities by 59.9% during the 4th quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 478 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $105,000 after buying an additional 179 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new position in AvalonBay Communities during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $126,000. Institutional investors own 92.61% of the company’s stock.

AvalonBay Communities Price Performance

NYSE AVB opened at $217.97 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $31.00 billion, a PE ratio of 28.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 0.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 1.64 and a current ratio of 1.64. The business’s fifty day moving average is $219.58 and its 200 day moving average is $222.60. AvalonBay Communities, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $172.85 and a fifty-two week high of $239.29.

AvalonBay Communities (NYSE:AVB) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The real estate investment trust reported $2.80 earnings per share 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%. Sell-side analysts predict that AvalonBay Communities, Inc. will post 11.53 earnings per share for the current 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. 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. This represents a $7.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.21%. AvalonBay Communities’s payout ratio is 92.23%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Morgan Stanley lowered AvalonBay Communities from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $236.00 to $223.00 in a research report on Friday, January 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised AvalonBay Communities from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $247.00 to $262.00 in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. Zelman & Associates raised AvalonBay Communities from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday. Scotiabank reduced their target price on AvalonBay Communities from $244.00 to $241.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, November 14th. Finally, Barclays reduced their target price on AvalonBay Communities from $243.00 to $230.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 24th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $235.73.

AvalonBay Communities Profile

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.