AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB) Holdings Lifted by Vert Asset Management LLC

Vert Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB - Free Report) by 9.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 63,461 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after purchasing an additional 5,350 shares during the quarter. AvalonBay Communities accounts for 4.8% of Vert Asset Management LLC's holdings, making the stock its 8th largest position. Vert Asset Management LLC's holdings in AvalonBay Communities were worth $13,960,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. State Street Corp grew its position in AvalonBay Communities by 2.2% in the third 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 acquiring an additional 196,938 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its stake in shares of 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 period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in AvalonBay Communities by 0.8% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,585,802 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $805,113,000 after purchasing an additional 27,988 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 3.6% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,240,436 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $504,658,000 after buying an additional 78,800 shares during the period. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its stake 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 buying an additional 1,494,872 shares during the last quarter. 92.61% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have weighed in on AVB shares. Morgan Stanley downgraded AvalonBay Communities from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $236.00 to $223.00 in a report on Friday. Barclays cut their price target on AvalonBay Communities from $243.00 to $230.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded AvalonBay Communities from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $247.00 to $262.00 in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. Scotiabank cut their price objective on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $244.00 to $241.00 and set a "sector perform" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, November 14th. Finally, Mizuho upgraded shares of AvalonBay Communities from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and increased their target price for the company from $239.00 to $242.00 in a report on Monday, January 6th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, AvalonBay Communities presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $234.60.

AvalonBay Communities Stock Performance

NYSE AVB traded down $1.63 on Tuesday, hitting $218.73. 303,618 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 533,410. AvalonBay Communities, Inc. has a 12 month low of $169.37 and a 12 month high of $239.29. The business's fifty day moving average is $222.83 and its two-hundred day moving average is $221.39. The firm has a market capitalization of $31.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.91, a PEG ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 0.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a quick ratio of 1.64 and a current ratio of 1.64.

AvalonBay Communities (NYSE:AVB - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The real estate investment trust reported $2.61 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $2.71 by ($0.10). The company had revenue of $734.31 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $731.67 million. AvalonBay Communities had a net margin of 36.20% and a return on equity of 8.84%. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.66 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that AvalonBay Communities, Inc. will post 11.04 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AvalonBay Communities Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 31st were given a $1.70 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, December 31st. This represents a $6.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.11%. AvalonBay Communities's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 93.02%.

Insider Buying and Selling at AvalonBay Communities

In other news, Director Timothy J. Naughton sold 23,697 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $233.47, for a total value of $5,532,538.59. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 87,239 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $20,367,689.33. This represents a 21.36 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 0.42% of the company's stock.

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.