Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund Has $7.79 Million Stock Position in AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB)

Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund cut its position in AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB) by 31.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 35,390 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 16,081 shares during the period. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund’s holdings in AvalonBay Communities were worth $7,785,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AVB. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 4.6% in the third quarter. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,244 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $280,000 after acquiring an additional 55 shares during the last quarter. Wedmont Private Capital raised its position in AvalonBay Communities by 5.3% in the 4th quarter. Wedmont Private Capital now owns 1,094 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $231,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares during the last quarter. MAI Capital Management boosted its stake in AvalonBay Communities by 1.7% in the third quarter. MAI Capital Management now owns 3,633 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $818,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A. grew its holdings in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 3.1% during the third quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A. now owns 2,015 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $454,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares during the last quarter. Finally, PFG Investments LLC increased its stake in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 6.1% in the third quarter. PFG Investments LLC now owns 1,097 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $247,000 after buying an additional 63 shares in the last quarter. 92.61% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

AvalonBay Communities Stock Down 1.0 %

AvalonBay Communities stock opened at $221.45 on Thursday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $218.60 and a 200-day moving average of $223.23. The stock has a market capitalization of $31.50 billion, a PE ratio of 29.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.11 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a quick ratio of 1.64, a current ratio of 1.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68. AvalonBay Communities, Inc. has a twelve month low of $172.85 and a twelve month high of $239.29.

AvalonBay Communities (NYSE:AVB) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The real estate investment trust reported $2.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.83 by ($0.03). AvalonBay Communities had a net margin of 37.13% and a return on equity of 9.15%. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that AvalonBay Communities, Inc. will post 11.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AvalonBay Communities Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be issued a $1.75 dividend. This represents a $7.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.16%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. This is an increase from AvalonBay Communities’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.70. AvalonBay Communities’s dividend payout ratio is presently 92.23%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on AVB shares. Scotiabank reduced their target price on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $244.00 to $241.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, November 14th. Evercore ISI upped their price objective on AvalonBay Communities from $230.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised 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 research note on Tuesday, December 17th. Mizuho raised AvalonBay Communities from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $239.00 to $242.00 in a report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Zelman & Associates raised shares of AvalonBay Communities from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target 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.