AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB) Shares Sold by Lasalle Investment Management Securities LLC

Lasalle Investment Management Securities LLC decreased its stake in AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB) by 38.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 316,082 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 197,881 shares during the quarter. AvalonBay Communities makes up 2.9% of Lasalle Investment Management Securities LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 14th biggest position. Lasalle Investment Management Securities LLC owned about 0.22% of AvalonBay Communities worth $69,529,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. boosted its stake in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 29.6% in the fourth quarter. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. now owns 1,260 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $277,000 after acquiring an additional 288 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its holdings in AvalonBay Communities by 1.4% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 4,060,497 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $914,627,000 after purchasing an additional 55,588 shares in the last quarter. West Oak Capital LLC boosted its stake in 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 boosted its stake in AvalonBay Communities by 27.0% during the 4th quarter. Portfolio Design Labs LLC now owns 22,356 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $4,918,000 after purchasing an additional 4,747 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sei Investments Co. raised its position in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 14.1% in the fourth quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 344,139 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $75,701,000 after buying an additional 42,416 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.61% of the company’s stock.

AvalonBay Communities Stock Up 1.4 %

NYSE:AVB opened at $202.93 on Friday. AvalonBay Communities, Inc. has a 52 week low of $180.40 and a 52 week high of $239.29. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $211.08 and its two-hundred day moving average is $219.06. The stock has a market capitalization of $28.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.11 and a beta of 0.86. 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 (NYSE:AVB) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The real estate investment trust reported $2.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.83 by ($0.03). AvalonBay Communities had a return on equity of 9.15% and a net margin of 37.13%. Research analysts anticipate that AvalonBay Communities, Inc. will post 11.48 EPS for the current year.

AvalonBay Communities Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st were paid a dividend of $1.75 per share. This is an increase from AvalonBay Communities’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.70. This represents a $7.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.45%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 31st. AvalonBay Communities’s dividend payout ratio is presently 92.23%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently weighed in on AVB. Truist Financial boosted their price target on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $229.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, March 10th. Barclays increased their price target on AvalonBay Communities from $226.00 to $227.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, April 11th. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on AvalonBay Communities from $230.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Mizuho raised AvalonBay Communities from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $239.00 to $242.00 in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Zelman & Associates raised shares of AvalonBay Communities from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $237.47.

About AvalonBay Communities

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.