KBC Group NV Sells 10,620 Shares of AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB)

KBC Group NV trimmed its holdings in shares of AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB) by 7.3% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 135,809 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 10,620 shares during the quarter. KBC Group NV’s holdings in AvalonBay Communities were worth $29,874,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC bought a new position in shares of AvalonBay Communities during the third quarter worth approximately $26,000. Brooklyn Investment Group acquired a new stake in AvalonBay Communities during the third quarter worth approximately $39,000. Mather Group LLC. increased its stake in AvalonBay Communities by 38.6% during the 3rd quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 201 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $45,000 after acquiring an additional 56 shares during the period. Prospera Private Wealth LLC acquired a new position in AvalonBay Communities in the 3rd quarter valued at $51,000. Finally, MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB lifted its position in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 59.9% during the 4th quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 478 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $105,000 after acquiring an additional 179 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.61% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AVB has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded AvalonBay Communities from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $247.00 to $262.00 in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. Barclays dropped their target price on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $243.00 to $230.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Morgan Stanley lowered shares of AvalonBay Communities from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and reduced their price target for the stock from $236.00 to $223.00 in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Mizuho upgraded shares of AvalonBay Communities from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $239.00 to $242.00 in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Scotiabank reduced their target price on AvalonBay Communities from $244.00 to $241.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, November 14th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, AvalonBay Communities presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $234.60.

Insider Buying and Selling at AvalonBay Communities

In related news, Director Timothy J. Naughton sold 23,697 shares of AvalonBay Communities stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $233.47, for a total value of $5,532,538.59. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 87,239 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $20,367,689.33. The trade was a 21.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.42% of the company’s stock.

AvalonBay Communities Stock Performance

AvalonBay Communities stock opened at $219.33 on Wednesday. The business has a 50 day moving average of $222.83 and a 200-day moving average of $221.39. The company has a market capitalization of $31.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.00, a P/E/G ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 0.99. AvalonBay Communities, Inc. has a 1 year low of $169.37 and a 1 year high of $239.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a current ratio of 1.64 and a quick ratio of 1.64.

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

AvalonBay Communities Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st were issued a dividend of $1.70 per share. This represents a $6.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.10%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, December 31st. AvalonBay Communities’s payout ratio is presently 93.02%.

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.