Presima Securities ULC Cuts Holdings in AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB)

Presima Securities ULC decreased its stake in shares of AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB) by 41.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 7,101 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 5,100 shares during the period. Presima Securities ULC’s holdings in AvalonBay Communities were worth $1,562,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of AVB. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its position in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 678.9% during the 3rd 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 valued at $386,315,000 after purchasing an additional 1,494,872 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of AvalonBay Communities in the third quarter valued at about $581,960,000. State Street Corp boosted its stake in shares of 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 worth $2,097,971,000 after acquiring an additional 196,938 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC grew its position in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 958.9% during the third quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 172,618 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $38,882,000 after purchasing an additional 156,316 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Artemis Investment Management LLP purchased a new position in AvalonBay Communities in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $29,256,000. 92.61% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Timothy J. Naughton sold 23,697 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owns 87,239 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $20,367,689.33. This represents a 21.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.42% of the stock is owned by insiders.

AvalonBay Communities Price Performance

AVB opened at $214.48 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.64, a current ratio of 1.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70. The business has a fifty day moving average of $223.31 and a 200 day moving average of $220.94. AvalonBay Communities, Inc. has a 52-week low of $169.37 and a 52-week high of $239.29. The stock has a market cap of $30.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.34, a PEG ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 0.99.

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

AvalonBay Communities Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 31st were paid a $1.70 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, December 31st. This represents a $6.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.17%. AvalonBay Communities’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 93.02%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently commented on AVB. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised AvalonBay Communities from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price target for the company from $247.00 to $262.00 in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. Mizuho upgraded 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 research report on Monday, January 6th. Morgan Stanley cut shares of AvalonBay Communities from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and reduced their price target for the stock from $236.00 to $223.00 in a research report on Friday. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price objective on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $234.00 to $233.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Finally, Barclays decreased their target price on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $243.00 to $230.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $234.60.

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.