Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co. Sells 29,490 Shares of AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB)

Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co. reduced its holdings in shares of AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB - Free Report) by 3.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 827,751 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after selling 29,490 shares during the quarter. AvalonBay Communities makes up 2.2% of Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 5th biggest holding. Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co. owned about 0.58% of AvalonBay Communities worth $182,080,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 2.2% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 9,245,028 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $2,097,971,000 after purchasing an additional 196,938 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in AvalonBay Communities during the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,499,050,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its stake in AvalonBay Communities by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 4,590,539 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $1,009,781,000 after buying an additional 27,629 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its stake in AvalonBay Communities by 1.4% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 4,060,497 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $914,627,000 after buying an additional 55,588 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 0.8% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,585,802 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $805,113,000 after acquiring an additional 27,988 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.61% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on AVB shares. Truist Financial lifted their target price on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $229.00 to $230.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, March 10th. Morgan Stanley lowered shares of AvalonBay Communities from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $236.00 to $223.00 in a research note on Friday, January 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of AvalonBay Communities from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and increased their target price for the stock from $247.00 to $262.00 in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. Mizuho raised AvalonBay Communities from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and raised their price target for the stock from $239.00 to $242.00 in a report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Piper Sandler reduced their price objective 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. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $238.64.

AvalonBay Communities Price Performance

Shares of NYSE AVB traded down $0.50 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $214.13. The company had a trading volume of 186,876 shares, compared to its average volume of 668,404. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $30.46 billion, a PE ratio of 28.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.11 and a beta of 1.00. AvalonBay Communities, Inc. has a twelve month low of $177.40 and a twelve month high of $239.29. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $217.43 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $222.27.

AvalonBay Communities (NYSE:AVB - Get Free Report) last released 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 net margin of 37.13% and a return on equity of 9.15%. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that AvalonBay Communities, Inc. will post 11.48 earnings per share for the current year.

AvalonBay Communities Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be issued a dividend of $1.75 per share. This is a boost from AvalonBay Communities's previous quarterly dividend of $1.70. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $7.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.27%. AvalonBay Communities's dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.