Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. Has $69.24 Million Stock Holdings in AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB)

Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its holdings in AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB) by 6.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 315,897 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after buying an additional 18,158 shares during the quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. owned approximately 0.22% of AvalonBay Communities worth $69,235,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in AVB. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. raised its stake in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 29.6% during the fourth quarter. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. now owns 1,260 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $277,000 after acquiring an additional 288 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its position in AvalonBay Communities by 1.4% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 4,060,497 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $914,627,000 after purchasing an additional 55,588 shares during the last quarter. West Oak Capital LLC lifted its holdings in AvalonBay Communities by 875.3% during the 4th quarter. West Oak Capital LLC now owns 15,800 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $356,000 after buying an additional 14,180 shares during the period. Portfolio Design Labs LLC lifted its holdings in AvalonBay Communities by 27.0% during the 4th quarter. Portfolio Design Labs LLC now owns 22,356 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $4,918,000 after buying an additional 4,747 shares during the period. Finally, Savant Capital LLC grew its position in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 8.7% in the 4th quarter. Savant Capital LLC now owns 1,264 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $278,000 after buying an additional 101 shares during the last quarter. 92.61% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on AVB. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on AvalonBay Communities from $226.00 to $229.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Barclays dropped their price target on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $230.00 to $226.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of AvalonBay Communities from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $247.00 to $262.00 in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. Zelman & Associates upgraded shares of AvalonBay Communities from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Mizuho upgraded AvalonBay Communities from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $239.00 to $242.00 in a report on Monday, January 6th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $238.64.

AvalonBay Communities Price Performance

Shares of AVB opened at $213.50 on Friday. The business’s fifty day moving average is $217.50 and its 200 day moving average is $222.49. AvalonBay Communities, Inc. has a 12-month low of $177.40 and a 12-month high of $239.29. 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 stock has a market cap of $30.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.13, a P/E/G ratio of 3.11 and a beta of 1.00.

AvalonBay Communities (NYSE:AVB) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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%. Sell-side analysts anticipate that AvalonBay Communities, Inc. will post 11.48 earnings per share 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 paid a $1.75 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. This is an increase from AvalonBay Communities’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.70. This represents a $7.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.28%. AvalonBay Communities’s dividend payout ratio is 92.23%.

AvalonBay Communities Company 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.