AvalonBay Communities, Inc. $AVB Holdings Cut by Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc.

Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. decreased its stake in AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB) by 1.5% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 250,554 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 3,802 shares during the period. Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in AvalonBay Communities were worth $40,928,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Pensionfund PDN bought a new stake in shares of AvalonBay Communities during the fourth quarter valued at about $3,648,000. Nordea Investment Management AB increased its position in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 4.1% during the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 444,222 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $80,449,000 after purchasing an additional 17,352 shares during the period. Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH acquired a new stake in shares of AvalonBay Communities in the fourth quarter valued at $26,237,000. CIBC Bancorp USA Inc. acquired a new position in AvalonBay Communities during the third quarter worth about $11,058,000. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its position in AvalonBay Communities by 9.3% in the fourth quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 4,497,047 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $815,360,000 after acquiring an additional 383,983 shares in the last quarter. 92.61% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AVB has been the subject of a number of research reports. Cantor Fitzgerald raised their target price on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $186.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, May 4th. Scotiabank lifted their target price on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $187.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $193.00 to $191.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 23rd. Wall Street Zen raised AvalonBay Communities from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 9th. Finally, Barclays lowered their price objective on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $206.00 to $203.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, May 11th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and fourteen have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, AvalonBay Communities currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $195.67.

AvalonBay Communities Stock Performance

AvalonBay Communities stock traded up $2.42 on Friday, reaching $191.88. 924,303 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,044,461. The company has a current ratio of 0.62, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $186.13 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $178.79. The stock has a market cap of $26.69 billion, a PE ratio of 27.81, a PEG ratio of 3.34 and a beta of 0.77. AvalonBay Communities, Inc. has a twelve month low of $160.10 and a twelve month high of $205.00.

AvalonBay Communities (NYSE:AVB) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 28th. The real estate investment trust reported $2.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.80 by ($0.47). AvalonBay Communities had a return on equity of 9.56% and a net margin of 37.21%.The company had revenue of $770.28 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $768.80 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $2.83 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that AvalonBay Communities, Inc. will post 11.28 EPS for the current year.

AvalonBay Communities Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 30th will be given a $1.78 dividend. This represents a $7.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.7%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, June 30th. AvalonBay Communities’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 103.19%.

AvalonBay Communities Profile

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.