Westpac Banking Corp Cuts Position in AvalonBay Communities, Inc. $AVB

Westpac Banking Corp decreased its holdings in AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB) by 6.2% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 42,863 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 2,832 shares during the quarter. Westpac Banking Corp’s holdings in AvalonBay Communities were worth $8,280,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Metis Global Partners LLC grew its position in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 21.0% in the third quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC now owns 44,760 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $8,646,000 after purchasing an additional 7,780 shares in the last quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans boosted its stake in AvalonBay Communities by 3.1% during the third quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 216,153 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $41,754,000 after buying an additional 6,511 shares during the last quarter. FORA Capital LLC boosted its stake in AvalonBay Communities by 78.7% during the second quarter. FORA Capital LLC now owns 15,702 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $3,195,000 after buying an additional 6,916 shares during the last quarter. Amundi grew its holdings in AvalonBay Communities by 17.7% in the 2nd quarter. Amundi now owns 449,348 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $90,768,000 after buying an additional 67,695 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Allstate Corp increased its stake in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 250.5% in the 3rd quarter. Allstate Corp now owns 8,152 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $1,575,000 after acquiring an additional 5,826 shares during the last quarter. 92.61% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

AvalonBay Communities Trading Up 0.5%

AVB opened at $178.46 on Thursday. AvalonBay Communities, Inc. has a 52 week low of $166.73 and a 52 week high of $230.21. The company has a quick ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $178.76 and a 200-day simple moving average of $183.33. The firm has a market cap of $25.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.79, a P/E/G ratio of 3.12 and a beta of 0.76.

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

AvalonBay Communities Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed 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 represents a $7.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.0%. This is an increase from AvalonBay Communities’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.75. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 31st. AvalonBay Communities’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 85.47%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on AVB. Evercore reissued an “in-line” rating and set a $214.00 price target on shares of AvalonBay Communities in a research report on Monday, November 3rd. Cantor Fitzgerald increased their price target on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $179.00 to $186.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, February 9th. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $216.00 to $217.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 13th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut AvalonBay Communities from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $172.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Tuesday, January 20th. Finally, UBS Group lowered their price target on AvalonBay Communities from $192.00 to $191.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 8th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and thirteen have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $200.91.

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.