Adams Diversified Equity Fund Inc. Invests $8.01 Million in AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB)

Adams Diversified Equity Fund Inc. bought a new position in AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm bought 36,400 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock, valued at approximately $8,007,000.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS boosted its stake in AvalonBay Communities by 37.0% in the 4th quarter. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS now owns 76,354 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $16,796,000 after purchasing an additional 20,619 shares during the period. iA Global Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in AvalonBay Communities by 27.4% in the 4th quarter. iA Global Asset Management Inc. now owns 5,213 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $1,147,000 after purchasing an additional 1,120 shares during the period. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd boosted its stake in AvalonBay Communities by 33.5% in the 4th quarter. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd now owns 2,898 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $637,000 after purchasing an additional 728 shares during the period. Xponance Inc. boosted its stake in AvalonBay Communities by 1.3% in the 4th quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 25,907 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $5,699,000 after purchasing an additional 340 shares during the period. Finally, Intech Investment Management LLC bought a new position in AvalonBay Communities in the 4th quarter worth about $490,000. Institutional investors own 92.61% of the company’s stock.

AvalonBay Communities Price Performance

Shares of AvalonBay Communities stock opened at $211.44 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 1.64 and a quick ratio of 1.64. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $217.93 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $223.04. The stock has a market capitalization of $30.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.11 and a beta of 1.00. AvalonBay Communities, Inc. has a one year low of $177.40 and a one year high of $239.29.

AvalonBay Communities (NYSE:AVB) last announced 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%. Analysts forecast that AvalonBay Communities, Inc. will post 11.48 EPS for the current year.

AvalonBay Communities Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be paid a $1.75 dividend. This is a boost from AvalonBay Communities’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.70. This represents a $7.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.31%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. AvalonBay Communities’s payout ratio is 92.23%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have commented on the company. Piper Sandler cut their target price on 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 upgraded AvalonBay Communities from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $239.00 to $242.00 in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Truist Financial lifted their price target on AvalonBay Communities from $229.00 to $230.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, March 10th. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on AvalonBay Communities from $230.00 to $240.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded AvalonBay Communities from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price target 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 given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $238.64.

AvalonBay Communities 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.