Kestra Investment Management LLC Decreases Holdings in AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB)

Kestra Investment Management LLC lowered its stake in shares of AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB) by 55.0% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 989 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 1,207 shares during the period. Kestra Investment Management LLC’s holdings in AvalonBay Communities were worth $218,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Venturi Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 130.8% during the fourth quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 607 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $134,000 after acquiring an additional 344 shares during the last quarter. Truist Financial Corp increased its position in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 6.2% during the fourth quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 8,033 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $1,767,000 after purchasing an additional 472 shares in the last quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc raised its stake in AvalonBay Communities by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 21,776 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $4,790,000 after purchasing an additional 110 shares during the last quarter. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC boosted its stake in AvalonBay Communities by 312.5% during the 4th quarter. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC now owns 363 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $80,000 after purchasing an additional 275 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in AvalonBay Communities by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 4,590,539 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $1,009,781,000 after purchasing an additional 27,629 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.61% of the company’s stock.

AvalonBay Communities Stock Down 0.3 %

Shares of NYSE AVB opened at $217.41 on Thursday. AvalonBay Communities, Inc. has a 52-week low of $172.85 and a 52-week high of $239.29. The business’s 50 day moving average is $219.08 and its two-hundred day moving average is $222.78. The firm has a market cap of $30.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.64, a PEG ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 0.99. 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) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The real estate investment trust reported $2.80 earnings per share (EPS) 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%. Research analysts predict that AvalonBay Communities, Inc. will post 11.48 EPS for the current year.

AvalonBay Communities Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st will be issued a $1.75 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $7.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.22%. This is a boost from AvalonBay Communities’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.70. AvalonBay Communities’s payout ratio is 89.59%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Zelman & Associates raised shares of AvalonBay Communities from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on AvalonBay Communities from $226.00 to $229.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Mizuho upgraded AvalonBay Communities from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $239.00 to $242.00 in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Scotiabank dropped their target price on AvalonBay Communities from $244.00 to $241.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, November 14th. Finally, Barclays reduced their price target on AvalonBay Communities from $230.00 to $226.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $235.47.

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.