AvalonBay Communities, Inc. $AVB Stake Lessened by Rhumbline Advisers

Rhumbline Advisers lessened its holdings in AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB) by 4.7% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 294,895 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 14,526 shares during the period. Rhumbline Advisers owned about 0.21% of AvalonBay Communities worth $56,965,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of AVB. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 0.6% in the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 22,800,375 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $4,639,876,000 after purchasing an additional 127,693 shares during the period. State Street Corp grew its position in AvalonBay Communities by 2.0% during the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 9,445,499 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $1,938,326,000 after purchasing an additional 182,952 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in AvalonBay Communities in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $1,394,225,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its position in AvalonBay Communities by 4.0% in the 2nd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 3,966,650 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $807,220,000 after buying an additional 152,220 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in AvalonBay Communities by 1.5% in the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,875,614 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $785,551,000 after buying an additional 57,599 shares in the last quarter. 92.61% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

AvalonBay Communities Stock Up 0.5%

Shares of AVB stock opened at $176.11 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $178.74 and its 200 day simple moving average is $184.02. AvalonBay Communities, Inc. has a twelve month low of $166.73 and a twelve month high of $230.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a current ratio of 0.67. The company has a market capitalization of $24.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.86, a PEG ratio of 3.08 and a beta of 0.76.

AvalonBay Communities (NYSE:AVB) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 5th. The real estate investment trust reported $2.85 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 the consensus estimate of $766.38 million. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.80 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that AvalonBay Communities, Inc. will post 11.48 EPS for the current year.

AvalonBay Communities Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 31st will be issued a $1.78 dividend. This is a boost from AvalonBay Communities’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.75. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 31st. This represents a $7.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.0%. AvalonBay Communities’s payout ratio is 94.85%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. UBS Group lowered their price target on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $192.00 to $191.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 8th. Truist Financial lowered their target price on AvalonBay Communities from $205.00 to $203.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 20th. Scotiabank dropped their target price on AvalonBay Communities from $215.00 to $193.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, November 4th. Evercore reiterated an “in-line” rating and set a $214.00 price target on shares of AvalonBay Communities in a report on Monday, November 3rd. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut AvalonBay Communities from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, February 7th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and thirteen have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $200.91.

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.