Polymer Capital Management US LLC Takes $826,000 Position in AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB)

Polymer Capital Management US LLC acquired a new position in shares of AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 3,754 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock, valued at approximately $826,000.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of AvalonBay Communities in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,499,050,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its position in AvalonBay Communities by 0.6% in 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 during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its stake in 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 during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in AvalonBay Communities by 3.0% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,693,457 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $810,470,000 after purchasing an additional 107,655 shares during the period. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its stake in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 49.9% in the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,488,975 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $547,500,000 after purchasing an additional 828,009 shares during the last quarter. 92.61% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

AvalonBay Communities Stock Down 6.9 %

Shares of AvalonBay Communities stock opened at $191.69 on Monday. AvalonBay Communities, Inc. has a 52-week low of $177.40 and a 52-week high of $239.29. The company has a 50 day moving average of $216.75 and a 200 day moving average of $221.56. The company has a quick ratio of 1.64, a current ratio of 1.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68. The company has a market capitalization of $27.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.26, a P/E/G ratio of 3.11 and a beta of 0.86.

AvalonBay Communities (NYSE:AVB) last issued its 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, research analysts forecast that AvalonBay Communities, Inc. will post 11.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AvalonBay Communities Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st will be issued a $1.75 dividend. This represents a $7.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.65%. This is an increase from AvalonBay Communities’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.70. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. AvalonBay Communities’s dividend payout ratio is 92.23%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently issued reports on AVB shares. Morgan Stanley downgraded AvalonBay Communities from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and cut their price objective for the stock from $236.00 to $223.00 in a research report on Friday, January 24th. BMO Capital Markets downgraded shares of 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. Zelman & Associates raised shares of AvalonBay Communities from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of AvalonBay Communities from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $247.00 to $262.00 in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. Finally, Truist Financial upped their price target on AvalonBay Communities from $229.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, March 10th. Eight equities research 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, AvalonBay Communities currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $237.40.

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.