Alliancebernstein L.P. Trims Stock Holdings in AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB)

Alliancebernstein L.P. lowered its stake in shares of AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB - Free Report) by 2.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 185,160 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after selling 5,207 shares during the quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. owned about 0.13% of AvalonBay Communities worth $40,730,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in AvalonBay Communities during the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,499,050,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its position in AvalonBay Communities by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 4,590,539 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $1,009,781,000 after buying an additional 27,629 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its position in AvalonBay Communities by 1.4% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 4,060,497 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $914,627,000 after buying an additional 55,588 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in AvalonBay Communities by 0.8% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,585,802 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $805,113,000 after buying an additional 27,988 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP grew its position in AvalonBay Communities by 49.9% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,488,975 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $547,500,000 after buying an additional 828,009 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.61% of the company's stock.

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Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on AVB. Morgan Stanley downgraded AvalonBay Communities from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and reduced their price target for the stock from $236.00 to $223.00 in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Mizuho upgraded AvalonBay Communities from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and upped their target price for the stock from $239.00 to $242.00 in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Piper Sandler cut their target price on AvalonBay Communities from $270.00 to $265.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Zelman & Associates upgraded AvalonBay Communities from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded AvalonBay Communities from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and upped their target price for the stock from $247.00 to $262.00 in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, AvalonBay Communities currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $237.40.

AvalonBay Communities Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:AVB traded down $7.56 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $192.83. The company had a trading volume of 196,518 shares, compared to its average volume of 688,002. 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 firm has a market cap of $27.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.48, a PEG ratio of 3.11 and a beta of 0.86. The company's 50-day moving average price is $214.12 and its 200-day moving average price is $220.36. AvalonBay Communities, Inc. has a one year low of $177.40 and a one year high of $239.29.

AvalonBay Communities (NYSE:AVB - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The real estate investment trust reported $2.80 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%. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that AvalonBay Communities, Inc. will post 11.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AvalonBay Communities Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed 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. This represents a $7.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.63%. This is a positive change from AvalonBay Communities's previous quarterly dividend of $1.70. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. AvalonBay Communities's payout ratio is currently 92.23%.

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.