GSI Capital Advisors LLC Buys New Shares in AvalonBay Communities, Inc. $AVB

GSI Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 32,082 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock, valued at approximately $5,817,000. AvalonBay Communities comprises approximately 3.3% of GSI Capital Advisors LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 10th biggest holding.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. State Street Corp increased its holdings in AvalonBay Communities by 1.0% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 9,537,966 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $1,858,788,000 after buying an additional 92,467 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of AvalonBay Communities in the 4th quarter worth about $1,394,635,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its position in AvalonBay Communities by 22.4% during the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 5,159,950 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $935,551,000 after buying an additional 944,129 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its position in AvalonBay Communities by 9.3% during the 4th quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 4,497,047 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $815,360,000 after buying an additional 383,983 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in AvalonBay Communities by 5.8% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,151,217 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $750,042,000 after buying an additional 228,244 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.61% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have issued reports on AVB. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $193.00 to $191.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 23rd. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of AvalonBay Communities in a research note on Wednesday, April 8th. Barclays decreased their price target on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $206.00 to $203.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, May 11th. Scotiabank decreased their price target on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $190.00 to $187.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 14th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of AvalonBay Communities from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 9th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and thirteen have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $198.44.

AvalonBay Communities Stock Down 1.1%

AVB stock opened at $184.56 on Friday. AvalonBay Communities, Inc. has a 52 week low of $160.10 and a 52 week high of $209.86. 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 business has a 50-day simple moving average of $179.51 and a 200 day simple moving average of $177.61. The company has a market cap of $25.67 billion, a PE ratio of 26.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.24 and a beta of 0.78.

AvalonBay Communities (NYSE:AVB) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The real estate investment trust reported $2.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.80 by ($0.47). AvalonBay Communities had a net margin of 37.21% and a return on equity of 9.56%. The business had revenue of $770.28 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $768.80 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.83 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that AvalonBay Communities, Inc. will post 11.31 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AvalonBay Communities Announces Dividend

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

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.