Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. Sells 573 Shares of AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB)

Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. lessened its holdings in AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB) by 7.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 7,079 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 573 shares during the period. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in AvalonBay Communities were worth $1,557,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Whipplewood Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of AvalonBay Communities in the 4th quarter worth approximately $36,000. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund grew its position in AvalonBay Communities by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 12,179 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $2,679,000 after acquiring an additional 69 shares during the period. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd acquired a new position in AvalonBay Communities during the fourth quarter worth $893,000. LDR Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 9.2% during the fourth quarter. LDR Capital Management LLC now owns 9,474 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $2,084,000 after acquiring an additional 795 shares during the period. Finally, Winebrenner Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of AvalonBay Communities in the 4th quarter valued at $880,000. Institutional investors own 92.61% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on AVB. Evercore ISI increased their target price on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $230.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Morgan Stanley lowered shares of AvalonBay Communities from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $236.00 to $223.00 in a report on Friday, January 24th. Zelman & Associates raised AvalonBay Communities from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Scotiabank decreased their price target on AvalonBay Communities from $244.00 to $241.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, November 14th. Finally, Piper Sandler cut their price objective on AvalonBay Communities from $270.00 to $265.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $238.64.

AvalonBay Communities Trading Up 0.9 %

Shares of NYSE AVB opened at $228.15 on Tuesday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $218.92 and its 200 day simple moving average is $223.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 1.64 and a quick ratio of 1.64. AvalonBay Communities, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $177.40 and a fifty-two week high of $239.29. The firm has a market capitalization of $32.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.06, a P/E/G ratio of 3.11 and a beta of 0.99.

AvalonBay Communities (NYSE:AVB) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The real estate investment trust reported $2.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.83 by ($0.03). AvalonBay Communities had a return on equity of 9.15% and a net margin of 37.13%. On average, analysts predict that AvalonBay Communities, Inc. will post 11.48 EPS for the current year.

AvalonBay Communities Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be paid a $1.75 dividend. This represents a $7.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.07%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. This is an increase from AvalonBay Communities’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.70. AvalonBay Communities’s dividend payout ratio is presently 92.23%.

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.