Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A. Sells 1,440 Shares of AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB)

Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A. cut its stake in shares of AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB - Free Report) by 10.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 12,693 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after selling 1,440 shares during the quarter. Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A.'s holdings in AvalonBay Communities were worth $2,787,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AVB. MGO One Seven LLC bought a new stake in AvalonBay Communities during the fourth quarter valued at about $520,000. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its holdings in AvalonBay Communities by 35.0% in the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 5,152,183 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $1,133,328,000 after purchasing an additional 1,336,698 shares in the last quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC lifted its holdings in AvalonBay Communities by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 604,010 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $132,751,000 after purchasing an additional 8,439 shares in the last quarter. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. boosted its stake in AvalonBay Communities by 6.7% in the 4th quarter. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. now owns 4,809 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $1,058,000 after purchasing an additional 300 shares during the period. Finally, Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in AvalonBay Communities by 21.6% during the 4th quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC now owns 12,438 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $2,736,000 after buying an additional 2,213 shares in the last quarter. 92.61% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

AvalonBay Communities Trading Down 0.4 %

Shares of AVB opened at $205.86 on Friday. AvalonBay Communities, Inc. has a twelve month low of $180.40 and a twelve month high of $239.29. 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's fifty day simple moving average is $209.80 and its 200-day simple moving average is $218.58. The company has a market cap of $29.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.12, a P/E/G ratio of 3.11 and a beta of 0.86.

AvalonBay Communities (NYSE:AVB - Get Free Report) 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 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, analysts expect that AvalonBay Communities, Inc. will post 11.48 EPS for the current year.

AvalonBay Communities Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st were issued a $1.75 dividend. This is a positive change from AvalonBay Communities's previous quarterly dividend of $1.70. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 31st. This represents a $7.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.40%. AvalonBay Communities's payout ratio is presently 92.23%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.