Pacer Advisors Inc. Purchases 4,820 Shares of AvalonBay Communities, Inc. $AVB

Pacer Advisors Inc. grew its position in AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB) by 42.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 16,167 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after buying an additional 4,820 shares during the quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc.’s holdings in AvalonBay Communities were worth $2,931,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. increased its stake in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 1.8% during the third quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 3,358 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $649,000 after buying an additional 60 shares during the period. Keybank National Association OH raised its holdings in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 2.6% in the fourth quarter. Keybank National Association OH now owns 2,458 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $446,000 after acquiring an additional 62 shares in the last quarter. Phoenix Financial Ltd. lifted its stake in AvalonBay Communities by 5.7% in the fourth quarter. Phoenix Financial Ltd. now owns 1,713 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $311,000 after acquiring an additional 92 shares during the period. New Mexico Educational Retirement Board lifted its stake in AvalonBay Communities by 1.6% in the fourth quarter. New Mexico Educational Retirement Board now owns 6,527 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $1,183,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the period. Finally, Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund increased its position in AvalonBay Communities by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund now owns 29,971 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $5,434,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 92.61% of the company’s stock.

AvalonBay Communities Stock Performance

AVB opened at $182.33 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $25.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.13 and a beta of 0.78. The company has a quick ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 0.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $181.79 and its 200-day moving average price is $177.63. AvalonBay Communities, Inc. has a 52-week low of $160.10 and a 52-week high of $208.75.

AvalonBay Communities (NYSE:AVB) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The real estate investment trust reported $2.33 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.80 by ($0.47). The company had revenue of $770.28 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $768.80 million. AvalonBay Communities had a return on equity of 9.56% and a net margin of 37.21%.During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.83 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that AvalonBay Communities, Inc. will post 11.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AvalonBay Communities Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 30th will be given a $1.78 dividend. This represents a $7.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, June 30th. AvalonBay Communities’s dividend payout ratio is presently 103.19%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AVB has been the subject of several research reports. UBS Group lowered their price target on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $191.00 to $189.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 14th. Wolfe Research raised shares of AvalonBay Communities from an “outperform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $209.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Monday, June 1st. Piper Sandler upped their target price on AvalonBay Communities from $183.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, May 29th. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating and set a $203.00 target price (down from $208.00) on shares of AvalonBay Communities in a research report on Thursday, March 26th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price target on AvalonBay Communities from $180.00 to $188.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and thirteen have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $195.13.

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.