QRG Capital Management Inc. Grows Stock Holdings in AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB)

QRG Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB) by 1.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 16,696 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after acquiring an additional 313 shares during the quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in AvalonBay Communities were worth $3,673,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of AVB. Proficio Capital Partners LLC purchased a new position in AvalonBay Communities during the 4th quarter worth $23,513,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of AvalonBay Communities in the 4th quarter worth $36,000. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund grew its position in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 12,179 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $2,679,000 after buying an additional 69 shares in the last quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd purchased a new position in shares of AvalonBay Communities during the fourth quarter valued at $893,000. Finally, LDR Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 9.2% in the fourth quarter. LDR Capital Management LLC now owns 9,474 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $2,084,000 after acquiring an additional 795 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.61% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have issued reports on AVB. Zelman & Associates upgraded shares of AvalonBay Communities from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Morgan Stanley downgraded shares of AvalonBay Communities from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $236.00 to $223.00 in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Mizuho raised shares of AvalonBay Communities from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $239.00 to $242.00 in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on AvalonBay Communities from $226.00 to $229.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Barclays cut their price target on AvalonBay Communities from $230.00 to $226.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $238.64.

AvalonBay Communities Trading Up 1.4 %

Shares of NYSE:AVB opened at $226.17 on Friday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $218.79 and its 200 day moving average is $223.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 1.64 and a quick ratio of 1.64. AvalonBay Communities, Inc. has a 1 year low of $174.46 and a 1 year high of $239.29. The firm has a market capitalization of $32.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.80, a P/E/G ratio of 3.11 and a beta of 0.99.

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%. On average, research analysts predict that AvalonBay Communities, Inc. will post 11.48 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AvalonBay Communities Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be issued a $1.75 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $7.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.10%. This is a boost from AvalonBay Communities’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.70. AvalonBay Communities’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 92.23%.

AvalonBay Communities Company 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.