Bank of New York Mellon Corp Sells 3,446 Shares of AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB)

Bank of New York Mellon Corp reduced its position in AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB - Free Report) by 0.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 983,481 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after selling 3,446 shares during the quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp owned 0.69% of AvalonBay Communities worth $216,336,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 4.6% during the third quarter. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,244 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $280,000 after buying an additional 55 shares during the period. Wedmont Private Capital boosted 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 valued at $231,000 after acquiring an additional 55 shares in the last quarter. MAI Capital Management boosted its position in AvalonBay Communities by 1.7% during the 3rd quarter. MAI Capital Management now owns 3,633 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $818,000 after acquiring an additional 60 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A. grew its holdings in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 3.1% during the 3rd quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A. now owns 2,015 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $454,000 after acquiring an additional 60 shares during the period. Finally, PFG Investments LLC raised its position in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 6.1% in the 3rd quarter. PFG Investments LLC now owns 1,097 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $247,000 after acquiring an additional 63 shares in the last quarter. 92.61% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

AvalonBay Communities Stock Up 0.9 %

NYSE AVB traded up $1.97 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $228.15. The stock had a trading volume of 263,648 shares, compared to its average volume of 619,641. The stock has a market cap of $32.45 billion, a PE ratio of 30.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.11 and a beta of 0.99. AvalonBay Communities, Inc. has a 1 year low of $177.40 and a 1 year 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 company has a fifty day moving average price of $218.79 and a 200 day moving average price of $223.50.

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%. On average, research analysts expect that AvalonBay Communities, Inc. will post 11.48 earnings per share for the current year.

AvalonBay Communities Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be paid a dividend of $1.75 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $7.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.07%. This is a boost from AvalonBay Communities's previous quarterly dividend of $1.70. AvalonBay Communities's dividend payout ratio is currently 92.23%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AVB has been the topic of several recent research reports. Mizuho raised AvalonBay Communities from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and upped their price target for the stock from $239.00 to $242.00 in a research note on Monday, January 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of AvalonBay Communities from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and boosted their target price for the company from $247.00 to $262.00 in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. Scotiabank decreased their price target on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $244.00 to $241.00 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, November 14th. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $230.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock an "in-line" rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Barclays cut their price objective on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $230.00 to $226.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, AvalonBay Communities currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $238.64.

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.