Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. Sells 175,365 Shares of AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB)

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. lessened its stake in AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB - Free Report) by 19.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 720,707 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after selling 175,365 shares during the quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. owned approximately 0.51% of AvalonBay Communities worth $158,534,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its position in AvalonBay Communities by 678.9% during the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 1,715,050 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $386,315,000 after purchasing an additional 1,494,872 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of AvalonBay Communities during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $581,960,000. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in 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 worth $2,097,971,000 after buying an additional 196,938 shares during the period. KBC Group NV grew its stake in AvalonBay Communities by 284.8% in the 3rd quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 146,429 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $32,983,000 after buying an additional 108,371 shares in the last quarter. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its holdings in AvalonBay Communities by 54.8% during the 3rd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 259,531 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $58,459,000 after acquiring an additional 91,861 shares during the period. 92.61% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at AvalonBay Communities

In other AvalonBay Communities news, Director Timothy J. Naughton sold 23,697 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $233.47, for a total transaction of $5,532,538.59. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 87,239 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $20,367,689.33. The trade was a 21.36 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.42% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

AvalonBay Communities Price Performance

Shares of NYSE AVB traded down $0.25 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $219.01. 500,774 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 648,418. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $220.27 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $222.38. The company has a market capitalization of $31.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 0.99. AvalonBay Communities, Inc. has a 52-week low of $169.37 and a 52-week high of $239.29. The company has a quick ratio of 1.64, a current ratio of 1.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68.

AvalonBay Communities (NYSE:AVB - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 37.13% and a return on equity of 9.15%. Equities research analysts forecast that AvalonBay Communities, Inc. will post 11.53 EPS for the current year.

AvalonBay Communities Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be paid a dividend of $1.75 per share. This represents a $7.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.20%. This is an increase from AvalonBay Communities's previous quarterly dividend of $1.70. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. AvalonBay Communities's dividend payout ratio is 89.59%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently commented on AVB. Piper Sandler cut their price target on AvalonBay Communities from $270.00 to $265.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday. Morgan Stanley downgraded AvalonBay Communities from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and cut their target price for the stock from $236.00 to $223.00 in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on AvalonBay Communities from $226.00 to $229.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a report on Friday. Mizuho raised shares of AvalonBay Communities from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and increased their price target for the stock from $239.00 to $242.00 in a report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Scotiabank reduced their price objective 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. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $235.73.

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.