Kensington Investment Counsel LLC Has $2.61 Million Position in AvalonBay Communities, Inc. $AVB

Kensington Investment Counsel LLC lessened its holdings in AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB) by 20.6% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 13,494 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 3,492 shares during the period. Kensington Investment Counsel LLC’s holdings in AvalonBay Communities were worth $2,607,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. raised its holdings in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 1.8% during the third quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 3,358 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $649,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares during the period. PFG Investments LLC grew its stake in shares of 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 buying an additional 61 shares during the period. Global Retirement Partners LLC increased its position in 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 increased its position in 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 in 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 buying an additional 84 shares during the period. 92.61% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AVB has been the topic of several recent research reports. Mizuho cut their price target on AvalonBay Communities from $199.00 to $191.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, November 24th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft downgraded AvalonBay Communities from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $172.00 price objective for the company. in a report on Tuesday, January 20th. Royal Bank Of Canada lowered their target price on 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. Citigroup cut their target price on AvalonBay Communities from $212.00 to $198.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 13th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered shares of AvalonBay Communities from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, February 7th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and thirteen have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $198.75.

AvalonBay Communities Stock Performance

Shares of AvalonBay Communities stock opened at $170.67 on Wednesday. AvalonBay Communities, Inc. has a 52 week low of $166.73 and a 52 week high of $217.32. The company has a quick ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $176.77 and a 200-day moving average price of $181.69. The company has a market cap of $23.91 billion, a PE ratio of 20.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.96 and a beta of 0.75.

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

AvalonBay Communities Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 31st will be issued a dividend of $1.78 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 31st. This represents a $7.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.2%. This is a positive change from AvalonBay Communities’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.75. AvalonBay Communities’s payout ratio is presently 86.94%.

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.