AvalonBay Communities, Inc. $AVB Shares Sold by Shell Asset Management Co.

Shell Asset Management Co. trimmed its holdings in shares of AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB) by 42.2% during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 8,127 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 5,924 shares during the period. Shell Asset Management Co.’s holdings in AvalonBay Communities were worth $1,570,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Naviter Wealth LLC raised its stake in AvalonBay Communities by 1.9% during the third quarter. Naviter Wealth LLC now owns 11,304 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $2,203,000 after acquiring an additional 210 shares during the period. Metis Global Partners LLC boosted its position in AvalonBay Communities by 21.0% during the 3rd quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC now owns 44,760 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $8,646,000 after purchasing an additional 7,780 shares during the period. Assetmark Inc. grew its stake in AvalonBay Communities by 49.5% during the 3rd quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 30,832 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $5,956,000 after buying an additional 10,211 shares during the last quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board lifted its stake in AvalonBay Communities by 4.3% in the third quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 30,693 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $5,929,000 after buying an additional 1,253 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Atria Investments Inc boosted its holdings in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 20.0% during the third quarter. Atria Investments Inc now owns 12,964 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $2,504,000 after acquiring an additional 2,163 shares during the period. 92.61% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AVB has been the topic of several recent research reports. Royal Bank Of Canada cut their price objective on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $191.00 to $187.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 6th. Truist Financial decreased their price objective on AvalonBay Communities from $205.00 to $203.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 20th. Evercore reaffirmed an “in-line” rating and set a $214.00 target price on shares of AvalonBay Communities in a research note on Monday, November 3rd. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of AvalonBay Communities in a report on Friday, January 9th. Finally, Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $216.00 to $217.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 13th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and thirteen have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $200.91.

AvalonBay Communities Trading Up 0.5%

Shares of AVB stock opened at $176.11 on Monday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $178.74 and a 200 day simple moving average of $183.79. The stock has a market capitalization of $24.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.50, a P/E/G ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 0.76. AvalonBay Communities, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $166.73 and a fifty-two week high of $230.21. The company has a quick ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79.

AvalonBay Communities (NYSE:AVB) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 5th. The real estate investment trust reported $2.85 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.84 by $0.01. AvalonBay Communities had a net margin of 34.57% and a return on equity of 8.78%. The firm had revenue of $767.86 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $766.38 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.80 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts expect that AvalonBay Communities, Inc. will post 11.48 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AvalonBay Communities Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 31st will be given a $1.78 dividend. This represents a $7.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.0%. This is a positive change from AvalonBay Communities’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.75. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 31st. AvalonBay Communities’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 94.85%.

About AvalonBay Communities

AvalonBay Communities, Inc (NYSE: AVB) is a publicly traded real estate investment trust (REIT) that owns, develops, redevelops and manages multifamily residential properties. The company focuses on professionally managed apartment communities, offering a range of rental housing options and related resident services. As a REIT, AvalonBay’s core activities center on the acquisition and development of apartment assets and the ongoing operations and leasing of those communities.

AvalonBay’s operating activities include ground-up development, strategic redevelopment of existing properties, property and asset management, and on-site leasing and resident services.