AvalonBay Communities, Inc. $AVB Shares Sold by Sterling Capital Management LLC

Sterling Capital Management LLC reduced its position in shares of AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB) by 43.2% in the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 4,792 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 3,639 shares during the period. Sterling Capital Management LLC’s holdings in AvalonBay Communities were worth $783,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Pensionfund PDN acquired a new position in shares of AvalonBay Communities during the 4th quarter worth about $3,648,000. Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its stake in AvalonBay Communities by 4.1% during the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 444,222 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $80,449,000 after purchasing an additional 17,352 shares during the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP boosted its holdings in AvalonBay Communities by 6.4% in the third quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 223,074 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $43,091,000 after purchasing an additional 13,356 shares in the last quarter. Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH acquired a new position in AvalonBay Communities in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,237,000. Finally, CIBC Bancorp USA Inc. purchased a new position in AvalonBay Communities in the third quarter valued at approximately $11,058,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.61% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AVB has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of AvalonBay Communities in a report on Wednesday, April 8th. Barclays reduced their price target on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $206.00 to $203.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, May 11th. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating and set a $203.00 price objective (down from $208.00) on shares of AvalonBay Communities in a report on Thursday, March 26th. Scotiabank cut their target price on AvalonBay Communities from $190.00 to $187.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 14th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised AvalonBay Communities to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, June 26th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and fourteen have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $195.13.

AvalonBay Communities Trading Up 0.9%

Shares of AvalonBay Communities stock opened at $190.39 on Thursday. 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 company has a market capitalization of $26.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.59, a PEG ratio of 3.29 and a beta of 0.77. AvalonBay Communities, Inc. has a 1 year low of $160.10 and a 1 year high of $205.00. The company’s fifty day moving average is $183.81 and its two-hundred day moving average is $178.12.

AvalonBay Communities (NYSE:AVB) last announced its earnings results 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). AvalonBay Communities had a net margin of 37.21% and a return on equity of 9.56%. The business had revenue of $770.28 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $768.80 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.83 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that AvalonBay Communities, Inc. will post 11.28 earnings per share for the current year.

AvalonBay Communities Dividend Announcement

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

AvalonBay Communities Company 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.