Auto Owners Insurance Co Acquires 54,800 Shares of AvalonBay Communities, Inc. $AVB

Auto Owners Insurance Co boosted its holdings in AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB) by 537.3% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 65,000 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after purchasing an additional 54,800 shares during the quarter. Auto Owners Insurance Co’s holdings in AvalonBay Communities were worth $13,228,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. New York Life Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in AvalonBay Communities by 1.3% in the 2nd quarter. New York Life Investment Management LLC now owns 21,270 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $4,328,000 after purchasing an additional 279 shares during the period. Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund boosted its stake in AvalonBay Communities by 20.4% during the second quarter. Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund now owns 27,771 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $5,651,000 after buying an additional 4,700 shares during the last quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas boosted its stake in AvalonBay Communities by 4.0% during the second quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 21,620 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $4,400,000 after buying an additional 826 shares during the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in AvalonBay Communities by 16.9% during the second quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 251,739 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $51,227,000 after buying an additional 36,335 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Chilton Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in AvalonBay Communities by 0.7% during the second quarter. Chilton Capital Management LLC now owns 82,448 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $16,908,000 after buying an additional 599 shares during the last quarter. 92.61% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

AvalonBay Communities Trading Down 2.1%

Shares of AVB stock opened at $184.35 on Wednesday. AvalonBay Communities, Inc. has a 1 year low of $180.40 and a 1 year high of $239.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 0.70 and a quick ratio of 0.70. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $190.91 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $197.90. The company has a market cap of $26.25 billion, a PE ratio of 22.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.72 and a beta of 0.86.

AvalonBay Communities (NYSE:AVB) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 30th. The real estate investment trust reported $2.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.80 by $0.02. AvalonBay Communities had a return on equity of 9.70% and a net margin of 38.91%.The business had revenue of $689.90 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $759.08 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.77 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that AvalonBay Communities, Inc. will post 11.48 earnings per share for the current year.

AvalonBay Communities Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, October 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 30th were given a dividend of $1.75 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 30th. This represents a $7.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.8%. AvalonBay Communities’s dividend payout ratio is 86.21%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently commented on AVB shares. Morgan Stanley raised AvalonBay Communities from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and dropped their price target for the company from $228.00 to $225.00 in a research note on Wednesday, August 13th. Cantor Fitzgerald started coverage on AvalonBay Communities in a research note on Wednesday, October 1st. They set a “neutral” rating and a $205.00 price target for the company. Barclays increased their price target on AvalonBay Communities from $228.00 to $229.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 30th. BNP Paribas Exane lowered AvalonBay Communities from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, September 29th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on AvalonBay Communities from $244.00 to $213.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, August 27th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $217.31.

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.