AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB) Shares Sold by Conning Inc.

Conning Inc. decreased its holdings in AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB) by 15.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 922 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 170 shares during the quarter. Conning Inc.’s holdings in AvalonBay Communities were worth $203,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of AVB. Segment Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 4.6% in the third quarter. Segment Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,025 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $231,000 after buying an additional 45 shares in the last quarter. Patrick M Sweeney & Associates Inc. increased its holdings in AvalonBay Communities by 4.1% in the 3rd quarter. Patrick M Sweeney & Associates Inc. now owns 1,268 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $286,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. Tectonic Advisors LLC raised its position in AvalonBay Communities by 2.7% during the third quarter. Tectonic Advisors LLC now owns 1,934 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $436,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares during the period. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in AvalonBay Communities by 4.6% during the third quarter. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,244 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $280,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wedmont Private Capital grew its position in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 5.3% in the fourth quarter. Wedmont Private Capital now owns 1,094 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $231,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.61% of the company’s stock.

AvalonBay Communities Trading Down 0.7 %

Shares of AvalonBay Communities stock opened at $220.23 on Monday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $220.50 and a 200 day moving average of $222.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 1.64 and a current ratio of 1.64. The firm has a market capitalization of $31.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.02, a PEG ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 0.99. AvalonBay Communities, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $169.37 and a fifty-two week high of $239.29.

AvalonBay Communities (NYSE:AVB) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The real estate investment trust reported $2.80 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.83 by ($0.03). AvalonBay Communities had a return on equity of 9.15% and a net margin of 37.13%. As a group, research analysts predict that AvalonBay Communities, Inc. will post 11.53 earnings per share for the current year.

AvalonBay Communities Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be given a dividend of $1.75 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. This is a boost from AvalonBay Communities’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.70. This represents a $7.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.18%. AvalonBay Communities’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 89.59%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of AvalonBay Communities from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $247.00 to $262.00 in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. Mizuho upgraded AvalonBay Communities from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their target price for the company from $239.00 to $242.00 in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Morgan Stanley lowered AvalonBay Communities from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and lowered their price target for the stock from $236.00 to $223.00 in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Barclays reduced their price objective on AvalonBay Communities from $243.00 to $230.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $226.00 to $229.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $234.33.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Timothy J. Naughton sold 23,697 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $233.47, for a total value of $5,532,538.59. Following the sale, the director now owns 87,239 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,367,689.33. The trade was a 21.36 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.42% of the company’s stock.

AvalonBay Communities Company Profile

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.