AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB) Stock Position Lowered by Sarasin & Partners LLP

Sarasin & Partners LLP lessened its position in AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB) by 6.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 26,521 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 1,917 shares during the quarter. Sarasin & Partners LLP’s holdings in AvalonBay Communities were worth $5,834,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC purchased a new stake in shares of AvalonBay Communities in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Brooklyn Investment Group purchased a new stake in shares of AvalonBay Communities in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Mather Group LLC. lifted its position in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 38.6% in the 3rd quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 201 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $45,000 after acquiring an additional 56 shares in the last quarter. Prospera Private Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of AvalonBay Communities in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $51,000. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 368.3% in the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 576 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $118,000 after acquiring an additional 453 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.61% of the company’s stock.

AvalonBay Communities Stock Performance

NYSE:AVB opened at $218.21 on Monday. AvalonBay Communities, Inc. has a 1 year low of $169.37 and a 1 year high of $239.29. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $224.47 and its 200 day simple moving average is $220.67. The company has a current ratio of 1.64, a quick ratio of 1.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70. The firm has a market capitalization of $31.04 billion, a PE ratio of 29.85, a PEG ratio of 2.94 and a beta of 0.99.

AvalonBay Communities (NYSE:AVB) last posted its earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The real estate investment trust reported $2.61 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.71 by ($0.10). AvalonBay Communities had a net margin of 36.20% and a return on equity of 8.84%. The firm had revenue of $734.31 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $731.67 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $2.66 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that AvalonBay Communities, Inc. will post 11.04 EPS for the current year.

AvalonBay Communities Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 31st were paid a $1.70 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, December 31st. This represents a $6.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.12%. AvalonBay Communities’s payout ratio is presently 93.02%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. Scotiabank reduced their price target on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $244.00 to $241.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, November 14th. Barclays assumed coverage on shares of AvalonBay Communities in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $243.00 target price for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of AvalonBay Communities from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $247.00 to $262.00 in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. Mizuho upgraded shares of AvalonBay Communities from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $239.00 to $242.00 in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada cut their target price on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $234.00 to $233.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, AvalonBay Communities currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $234.53.

Insider Activity at AvalonBay Communities

In other AvalonBay Communities news, Director Timothy J. Naughton sold 2,261 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $233.78, for a total value of $528,576.58. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 111,436 shares in the company, valued at $26,051,508.08. This trade represents a 1.99 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 0.48% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.