KBC Group NV Has $29.87 Million Holdings in AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB)

KBC Group NV decreased its stake in AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB) by 7.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 135,809 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 10,620 shares during the quarter. KBC Group NV owned 0.10% of AvalonBay Communities worth $29,874,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC acquired a new stake in shares of AvalonBay Communities in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Brooklyn Investment Group bought a new stake in AvalonBay Communities in the third quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Mather Group LLC. increased its stake in AvalonBay Communities by 38.6% in the third quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 201 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $45,000 after purchasing an additional 56 shares in the last quarter. Prospera Private Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in AvalonBay Communities in the third quarter worth $51,000. Finally, MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB boosted its position in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 59.9% during the fourth quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 478 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $105,000 after purchasing an additional 179 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.61% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at AvalonBay Communities

In other news, Director Timothy J. Naughton sold 23,697 shares of AvalonBay Communities stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $233.47, for a total transaction of $5,532,538.59. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 87,239 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,367,689.33. The trade was a 21.36 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 0.42% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently commented on AVB shares. Barclays dropped their price objective on AvalonBay Communities from $243.00 to $230.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Morgan Stanley lowered AvalonBay Communities from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $236.00 to $223.00 in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Scotiabank decreased their price objective on AvalonBay Communities from $244.00 to $241.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, November 14th. Mizuho raised AvalonBay Communities from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $239.00 to $242.00 in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of AvalonBay Communities from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $247.00 to $262.00 in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $234.60.

AvalonBay Communities Price Performance

Shares of NYSE AVB opened at $219.33 on Wednesday. AvalonBay Communities, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $169.37 and a fifty-two week high of $239.29. The stock has a market capitalization of $31.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.00, a PEG ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 0.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a current ratio of 1.64 and a quick ratio of 1.64. The business has a 50-day moving average of $222.83 and a 200-day moving average of $221.39.

AvalonBay Communities (NYSE:AVB) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 4th. The real estate investment trust reported $2.61 earnings per share (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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $731.67 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.66 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that AvalonBay Communities, Inc. will post 11.04 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AvalonBay Communities Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st were paid a dividend of $1.70 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, December 31st. This represents a $6.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.10%. AvalonBay Communities’s dividend payout ratio is presently 93.02%.

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.