AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB) Shares Sold by Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp

Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp lowered its stake in AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB) by 4.2% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 120,356 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 5,251 shares during the period. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp’s holdings in AvalonBay Communities were worth $26,475,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. boosted its stake in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 29.6% during the fourth quarter. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. now owns 1,260 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $277,000 after acquiring an additional 288 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its stake in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 1.4% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 4,060,497 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $914,627,000 after purchasing an additional 55,588 shares during the last quarter. West Oak Capital LLC boosted its stake in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 875.3% during the 4th quarter. West Oak Capital LLC now owns 15,800 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $356,000 after purchasing an additional 14,180 shares during the last quarter. Portfolio Design Labs LLC raised its position in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 27.0% in the fourth quarter. Portfolio Design Labs LLC now owns 22,356 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $4,918,000 after buying an additional 4,747 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Savant Capital LLC lifted its stake in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 8.7% during the fourth quarter. Savant Capital LLC now owns 1,264 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $278,000 after buying an additional 101 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.61% of the company’s stock.

AvalonBay Communities Stock Performance

Shares of AVB stock opened at $213.18 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.64, a quick ratio of 1.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68. The company has a market cap of $30.33 billion, a PE ratio of 28.09, a P/E/G ratio of 3.11 and a beta of 1.00. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $217.60 and its 200-day simple moving average is $222.58. AvalonBay Communities, Inc. has a 52 week low of $177.40 and a 52 week high of $239.29.

AvalonBay Communities (NYSE:AVB) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The real estate investment trust reported $2.80 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.83 by ($0.03). AvalonBay Communities had a net margin of 37.13% and a return on equity of 9.15%. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that AvalonBay Communities, Inc. will post 11.48 EPS 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 issued a $1.75 dividend. This represents a $7.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.28%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. This is a boost from AvalonBay Communities’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.70. AvalonBay Communities’s dividend payout ratio is currently 92.23%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have commented on AVB shares. Morgan Stanley cut shares of AvalonBay Communities from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $236.00 to $223.00 in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Piper Sandler reduced their target price on AvalonBay Communities from $270.00 to $265.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Zelman & Associates upgraded AvalonBay Communities from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $230.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of AvalonBay Communities from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $247.00 to $262.00 in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $238.64.

AvalonBay Communities 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.