AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB) Shares Sold by Uniplan Investment Counsel Inc.

Uniplan Investment Counsel Inc. decreased its position in AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB - Free Report) by 2.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 69,326 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after selling 1,493 shares during the period. AvalonBay Communities makes up about 1.4% of Uniplan Investment Counsel Inc.'s portfolio, making the stock its 19th biggest holding. Uniplan Investment Counsel Inc.'s holdings in AvalonBay Communities were worth $15,250,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. raised 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 purchasing an additional 288 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased 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 worth $914,627,000 after buying an additional 55,588 shares during the period. West Oak Capital LLC raised its position 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 buying an additional 14,180 shares during the last quarter. Portfolio Design Labs LLC raised its position 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 buying an additional 4,747 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sei Investments Co. increased its stake 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 worth $75,701,000 after acquiring an additional 42,416 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.61% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Barclays increased their price target on AvalonBay Communities from $226.00 to $227.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Piper Sandler reduced their price target on AvalonBay Communities from $270.00 to $265.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on AvalonBay Communities from $226.00 to $229.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Morgan Stanley lowered shares of AvalonBay Communities from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and cut their target price for the company from $236.00 to $223.00 in a report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets downgraded shares of AvalonBay Communities from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating and set a $220.00 price target on the stock. in a report on Friday, April 4th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, AvalonBay Communities has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $237.47.

AvalonBay Communities Price Performance

NYSE AVB traded down $0.87 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $205.86. The stock had a trading volume of 642,822 shares, compared to its average volume of 691,981. AvalonBay Communities, Inc. has a twelve month low of $180.40 and a twelve month high of $239.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 1.64 and a quick ratio of 1.64. The firm's 50 day moving average is $209.80 and its 200 day moving average is $218.58. The stock has a market capitalization of $29.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.12, a PEG ratio of 3.11 and a beta of 0.86.

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 earnings per share 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%. Equities research 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 declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st were given a $1.75 dividend. The ex-dividend date was 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 dividend yield of 3.40%. 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.