Intact Investment Management Inc. Sells 2,600 Shares of AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB)

Intact Investment Management Inc. reduced its position in shares of AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB) by 8.4% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 28,500 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 2,600 shares during the quarter. Intact Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in AvalonBay Communities were worth $6,269,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC bought a new stake in AvalonBay Communities during the third quarter worth $26,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of AvalonBay Communities in the fourth quarter valued at $36,000. Brooklyn Investment Group acquired a new position in shares of AvalonBay Communities in the third quarter valued at $39,000. Prospera Private Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of AvalonBay Communities in the third quarter valued at $51,000. Finally, Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 312.5% in the fourth quarter. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC now owns 363 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $80,000 after purchasing an additional 275 shares during the last quarter. 92.61% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have commented on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of AvalonBay Communities from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $247.00 to $262.00 in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. Zelman & Associates upgraded shares of AvalonBay Communities from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $226.00 to $229.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. Scotiabank decreased their price objective on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $244.00 to $241.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, November 14th. Finally, Mizuho upgraded shares of AvalonBay Communities from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $239.00 to $242.00 in a report on Monday, January 6th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $238.64.

AvalonBay Communities Trading Down 1.2 %

Shares of AvalonBay Communities stock opened at $207.45 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $29.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.33, a PEG ratio of 3.11 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a quick ratio of 1.64, a current ratio of 1.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68. AvalonBay Communities, Inc. has a 12-month low of $177.40 and a 12-month high of $239.29. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $218.22 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $223.45.

AvalonBay Communities (NYSE:AVB) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The real estate investment trust reported $2.80 earnings per share (EPS) 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%. On average, analysts forecast that AvalonBay Communities, Inc. will post 11.48 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AvalonBay Communities Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be issued a $1.75 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $7.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.37%. This is a boost from AvalonBay Communities’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.70. AvalonBay Communities’s dividend payout ratio is 92.23%.

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.