Nisa Investment Advisors LLC Has $15.47 Million Stock Position in AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB)

Nisa Investment Advisors LLC cut its holdings in shares of AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB) by 7.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 69,754 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 5,302 shares during the quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in AvalonBay Communities were worth $15,470,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the business. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 2.2% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 9,245,028 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $2,097,971,000 after purchasing an additional 196,938 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its position in AvalonBay Communities by 1.4% in 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 buying an additional 55,588 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 0.8% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,585,802 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $805,113,000 after buying an additional 27,988 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 3.6% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,240,436 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $504,658,000 after acquiring an additional 78,800 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its stake in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 678.9% in the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 1,715,050 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $386,315,000 after acquiring an additional 1,494,872 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.61% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AVB has been the subject of a number of research reports. Mizuho raised AvalonBay Communities from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $239.00 to $242.00 in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price target on AvalonBay Communities from $234.00 to $233.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of AvalonBay Communities from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $247.00 to $262.00 in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. Scotiabank dropped their price target on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $244.00 to $241.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, November 14th. Finally, Barclays began coverage on shares of AvalonBay Communities in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $243.00 price objective for the company. Eight investment 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 an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $234.53.

AvalonBay Communities Stock Down 2.2 %

Shares of AVB stock opened at $214.40 on Thursday. AvalonBay Communities, Inc. has a 12 month low of $169.37 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 0.70. The firm has a market cap of $30.50 billion, a PE ratio of 29.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.04 and a beta of 0.99. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $223.97 and a 200-day moving average of $221.04.

AvalonBay Communities (NYSE:AVB) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The real estate investment trust reported $2.61 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.71 by ($0.10). The company had revenue of $734.31 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $731.67 million. AvalonBay Communities had a net margin of 36.20% and a return on equity of 8.84%. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.66 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that AvalonBay Communities, Inc. will post 11.04 EPS for the current year.

AvalonBay Communities Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 31st were paid a dividend of $1.70 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, December 31st. This represents a $6.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.17%. AvalonBay Communities’s dividend payout ratio is 93.02%.

Insider Buying and Selling at AvalonBay Communities

In other news, Director Timothy J. Naughton sold 23,697 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $233.47, for a total transaction of $5,532,538.59. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 87,239 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,367,689.33. The trade was a 21.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.48% of the company’s stock.

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.