Bridgewater Associates LP Increases Stock Holdings in AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB)

Bridgewater Associates LP raised its stake in shares of AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB) by 77.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,600 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after purchasing an additional 697 shares during the quarter. Bridgewater Associates LP’s holdings in AvalonBay Communities were worth $352,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

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

AvalonBay Communities Trading Up 1.4 %

NYSE:AVB opened at $202.93 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $28.89 billion, a PE ratio of 26.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.11 and a beta of 0.86. The company has a current ratio of 1.64, a quick ratio of 1.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $211.08 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $219.06. AvalonBay Communities, Inc. has a 12 month low of $180.40 and a 12 month high of $239.29.

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

AvalonBay Communities Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st were issued a $1.75 dividend. This is an increase from AvalonBay Communities’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.70. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 31st. This represents a $7.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.45%. AvalonBay Communities’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 92.23%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Piper Sandler decreased their price target on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $270.00 to $265.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Mizuho raised shares of AvalonBay Communities from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their target price for the company from $239.00 to $242.00 in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $226.00 to $227.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, April 11th. BMO Capital Markets downgraded AvalonBay Communities from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and set a $220.00 price target on the stock. in a research note on Friday, April 4th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on AvalonBay Communities from $226.00 to $229.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $237.47.

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.