AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB) Shares Acquired by Mizuho Securities USA LLC

Mizuho Securities USA LLC increased its position in AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB) by 46.2% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 13,463 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,253 shares during the quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC’s holdings in AvalonBay Communities were worth $2,961,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. State Street Corp increased its holdings in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 2.2% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 9,245,028 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $2,097,971,000 after acquiring an additional 196,938 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 4,590,539 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $1,009,781,000 after acquiring an additional 27,629 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its holdings in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 1.4% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 4,060,497 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $914,627,000 after acquiring an additional 55,588 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 0.8% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,585,802 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $805,113,000 after acquiring an additional 27,988 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,266,701 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $498,606,000 after acquiring an additional 26,265 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.61% of the company’s stock.

AvalonBay Communities Price Performance

AVB stock opened at $209.49 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 1.64, a quick ratio of 1.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68. AvalonBay Communities, Inc. has a one year low of $177.40 and a one year high of $239.29. The firm has a market capitalization of $29.80 billion, a PE ratio of 27.60, a P/E/G ratio of 3.11 and a beta of 1.00. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $217.90 and a two-hundred day moving average of $222.87.

AvalonBay Communities (NYSE:AVB) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The real estate investment trust reported $2.80 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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, analysts forecast that AvalonBay Communities, Inc. will post 11.48 earnings per share for the current year.

AvalonBay Communities Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be paid a dividend of $1.75 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. This is a positive change from AvalonBay Communities’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.70. This represents a $7.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.34%. AvalonBay Communities’s dividend payout ratio is currently 92.23%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on AVB. Piper Sandler decreased their target price on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $270.00 to $265.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $226.00 to $229.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Barclays decreased their target price on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $230.00 to $226.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Zelman & Associates upgraded shares of AvalonBay Communities from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of AvalonBay Communities from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their target price for the company from $247.00 to $262.00 in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $238.64.

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.