AvalonBay Communities, Inc. $AVB Position Reduced by Thrivent Financial for Lutherans

Thrivent Financial for Lutherans reduced its position in AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB) by 3.0% during the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 209,642 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 6,528 shares during the quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans’ holdings in AvalonBay Communities were worth $42,662,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of AvalonBay Communities in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $1,394,225,000. Invesco Ltd. raised its stake in AvalonBay Communities by 70.2% during the 2nd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 2,593,727 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $527,823,000 after purchasing an additional 1,069,793 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE raised its stake in AvalonBay Communities by 77.1% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 1,338,552 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $272,395,000 after purchasing an additional 582,724 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 23.2% in the second quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,816,163 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $573,091,000 after purchasing an additional 530,274 shares in the last quarter. Finally, PGGM Investments boosted its position in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 7,782.9% in the second quarter. PGGM Investments now owns 478,966 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $97,470,000 after buying an additional 472,890 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.61% of the company’s stock.

AvalonBay Communities Trading Up 0.6%

Shares of NYSE AVB opened at $177.89 on Tuesday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $180.73 and a 200 day simple moving average of $191.47. AvalonBay Communities, Inc. has a 52 week low of $166.73 and a 52 week high of $230.23. The stock has a market cap of $25.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.72, a PEG ratio of 3.21 and a beta of 0.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a current ratio of 0.67.

AvalonBay Communities (NYSE:AVB) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 30th. The real estate investment trust reported $2.75 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.81 by ($0.06). The business had revenue of $766.80 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $766.22 million. AvalonBay Communities had a net margin of 38.78% and a return on equity of 9.72%. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $2.74 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that AvalonBay Communities, Inc. will post 11.48 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AvalonBay Communities Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 15th. Investors of record on Wednesday, December 31st will be paid a $1.75 dividend. This represents a $7.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, December 31st. AvalonBay Communities’s payout ratio is presently 85.47%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently weighed in on AVB. Barclays raised AvalonBay Communities from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and dropped their price target for the company from $229.00 to $216.00 in a research report on Tuesday, November 25th. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on AvalonBay Communities from $225.00 to $222.50 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, November 13th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $213.00 to $193.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, November 10th. Scotiabank dropped their price objective on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $215.00 to $193.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, November 4th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada cut their target price on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $202.00 to $197.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, November 4th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $205.89.

About AvalonBay Communities

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.