Allianz Asset Management GmbH Sells 4,445 Shares of AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB)

Allianz Asset Management GmbH decreased its stake in shares of AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB) by 2.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 192,930 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 4,445 shares during the period. Allianz Asset Management GmbH’s holdings in AvalonBay Communities were worth $42,439,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. State Street Corp increased its position in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 2.2% during the third 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 in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its position in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 0.6% during the fourth 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 in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its position in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 1.4% during the third 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 in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 0.8% during the third 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 3.6% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,240,436 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $504,658,000 after acquiring an additional 78,800 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.61% of the company’s stock.

AvalonBay Communities Price Performance

NYSE:AVB opened at $218.78 on Friday. AvalonBay Communities, Inc. has a 52 week low of $172.85 and a 52 week high of $239.29. The firm has a market cap of $31.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.82, a P/E/G ratio of 3.12 and a beta of 0.99. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $218.76 and its 200 day simple moving average is $222.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 1.64 and a current ratio of 1.64.

AvalonBay Communities (NYSE:AVB) last released its quarterly earnings results 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 return on equity of 9.15% and a net margin of 37.13%. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that AvalonBay Communities, Inc. will post 11.48 earnings per share for the current year.

AvalonBay Communities Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced 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. This is a positive change from AvalonBay Communities’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.70. This represents a $7.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.20%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. AvalonBay Communities’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 89.59%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Zelman & Associates raised shares of AvalonBay Communities from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Royal Bank of Canada raised 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. Morgan Stanley downgraded shares of AvalonBay Communities from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and decreased their target price for the company from $236.00 to $223.00 in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of AvalonBay Communities from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price target for the company from $247.00 to $262.00 in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, AvalonBay Communities presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $238.64.

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.