AvalonBay Communities, Inc. $AVB Shares Sold by Swiss National Bank

Swiss National Bank reduced its holdings in AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB) by 4.8% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 410,321 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 20,700 shares during the period. Swiss National Bank’s holdings in AvalonBay Communities were worth $79,262,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. PFG Investments LLC increased its holdings in AvalonBay Communities by 4.4% in the 3rd quarter. PFG Investments LLC now owns 1,456 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $281,000 after purchasing an additional 61 shares during the last quarter. Clearstead Trust LLC raised its holdings in AvalonBay Communities by 62.0% during the second quarter. Clearstead Trust LLC now owns 162 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 62 shares in the last quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 13.3% in the 3rd quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 564 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $109,000 after buying an additional 66 shares in the last quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC grew its position in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 0.9% in the 2nd quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 8,126 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $1,654,000 after buying an additional 76 shares during the last quarter. Finally, BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S raised its stake in AvalonBay Communities by 1.5% during the 3rd quarter. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S now owns 5,779 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $1,116,000 after acquiring an additional 84 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.61% of the company’s stock.

AvalonBay Communities Trading Down 1.3%

NYSE AVB opened at $174.33 on Wednesday. AvalonBay Communities, Inc. has a 52-week low of $166.73 and a 52-week high of $217.35. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $177.89 and a 200 day moving average price of $182.52. The stock has a market capitalization of $24.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.29, a P/E/G ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 0.75. The company has a quick ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79.

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

AvalonBay Communities Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 31st will be issued a $1.78 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 31st. This represents a $7.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.1%. This is a boost from AvalonBay Communities’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.75. AvalonBay Communities’s payout ratio is 85.47%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently weighed in on AVB. UBS Group reduced their target price on AvalonBay Communities from $192.00 to $191.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 8th. Truist Financial decreased their price objective on AvalonBay Communities from $203.00 to $201.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, March 3rd. Citigroup reduced their price target on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $212.00 to $198.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 13th. Mizuho decreased their price target on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $199.00 to $191.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, November 24th. Finally, Barclays dropped their price objective on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $217.00 to $202.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, March 6th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and thirteen have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $199.66.

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.