Westpac Banking Corp Sells 10,094 Shares of AvalonBay Communities, Inc. $AVB

Westpac Banking Corp trimmed its position in AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB) by 23.5% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 32,769 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 10,094 shares during the quarter. Westpac Banking Corp’s holdings in AvalonBay Communities were worth $5,941,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. BOKF NA bought a new stake in AvalonBay Communities in the 3rd quarter valued at about $31,000. Elyxium Wealth LLC bought a new stake in AvalonBay Communities in the 4th quarter valued at about $32,000. AlphaQuest LLC bought a new stake in AvalonBay Communities in the 3rd quarter valued at about $33,000. Headlands Technologies LLC bought a new stake in AvalonBay Communities in the 2nd quarter valued at about $36,000. Finally, Fulcrum Asset Management LLP bought a new stake in AvalonBay Communities in the 3rd quarter valued at about $37,000. 92.61% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently commented on AVB shares. Cantor Fitzgerald boosted their target price on AvalonBay Communities from $186.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, May 4th. Citigroup decreased their target price on AvalonBay Communities from $212.00 to $198.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 13th. Piper Sandler boosted their target price on AvalonBay Communities from $183.00 to $195.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, May 29th. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating and issued a $203.00 target price (down from $208.00) on shares of AvalonBay Communities in a research report on Thursday, March 26th. Finally, Scotiabank decreased their price objective on AvalonBay Communities from $190.00 to $187.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 14th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and thirteen have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $198.44.

AvalonBay Communities Stock Performance

Shares of AVB opened at $183.22 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a current ratio of 0.62. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $175.70 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $177.13. The firm has a market capitalization of $25.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.55, a P/E/G ratio of 3.18 and a beta of 0.78. AvalonBay Communities, Inc. has a 52 week low of $160.10 and a 52 week high of $209.86.

AvalonBay Communities (NYSE:AVB) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 28th. The real estate investment trust reported $2.33 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.80 by ($0.47). The company had revenue of $770.28 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $768.80 million. AvalonBay Communities had a return on equity of 9.56% and a net margin of 37.21%.During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.83 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that AvalonBay Communities, Inc. will post 11.31 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.