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

Tobam trimmed its stake in shares of AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB) by 13.8% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 1,115 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 178 shares during the quarter. Tobam’s holdings in AvalonBay Communities were worth $245,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of AVB. Segment Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in AvalonBay Communities by 4.6% during 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. raised its holdings in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 4.1% during the third quarter. Patrick M Sweeney & Associates Inc. now owns 1,268 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $286,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares during the period. Tectonic Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 2.7% in the 3rd quarter. Tectonic Advisors LLC now owns 1,934 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $436,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC boosted its stake in AvalonBay Communities by 4.6% in the 3rd quarter. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,244 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $280,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares during the period. Finally, Wedmont Private Capital grew its position in AvalonBay Communities by 5.3% during the 4th quarter. Wedmont Private Capital now owns 1,094 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $231,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.61% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Timothy J. Naughton sold 23,697 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owns 87,239 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $20,367,689.33. This trade represents a 21.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.42% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

AvalonBay Communities Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:AVB opened at $220.23 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $31.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.13, a P/E/G ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 0.99. The business has a 50-day moving average of $220.79 and a two-hundred day moving average of $221.98. AvalonBay Communities, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $169.37 and a fifty-two week high of $239.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a current ratio of 1.64 and a quick ratio of 1.64.

AvalonBay Communities (NYSE:AVB) last announced its earnings results 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 8.84% and a net margin of 36.20%. On average, equities research analysts predict that AvalonBay Communities, Inc. will post 11.04 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AvalonBay Communities Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st will be paid a $1.75 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. This is a positive change from AvalonBay Communities’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.70. This represents a $7.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.18%. AvalonBay Communities’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 92.23%.

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.