Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. Trims Stock Holdings in AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB)

Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. lowered its holdings in AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB) by 24.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 204,318 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 67,450 shares during the period. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. owned about 0.14% of AvalonBay Communities worth $44,944,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of AVB. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in AvalonBay Communities by 132.6% during the 4th quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,756 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $386,000 after buying an additional 1,001 shares during the last quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 19.7% in the 4th quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 2,778 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $611,000 after purchasing an additional 457 shares during the last quarter. GC Wealth Management RIA LLC bought a new stake in shares of AvalonBay Communities in the 4th quarter worth approximately $222,000. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 51.7% in the 4th quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 554,290 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $121,927,000 after purchasing an additional 188,906 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank lifted its holdings in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 27.9% in the 4th quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 118,708 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $26,112,000 after purchasing an additional 25,922 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.61% of the company’s stock.

AvalonBay Communities Trading Down 1.4 %

Shares of NYSE:AVB opened at $213.30 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $30.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.10, a PEG ratio of 3.11 and a beta of 1.00. AvalonBay Communities, Inc. has a 1-year low of $177.40 and a 1-year high of $239.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 1.64 and a current ratio of 1.64. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $218.61 and a 200 day moving average price of $223.66.

AvalonBay Communities (NYSE:AVB) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The real estate investment trust reported $2.80 earnings per share 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, research analysts anticipate that AvalonBay Communities, Inc. will post 11.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AvalonBay Communities Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st will be issued a dividend of $1.75 per share. This represents a $7.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.28%. This is a boost from AvalonBay Communities’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.70. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. AvalonBay Communities’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 92.23%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently issued reports on AVB shares. Mizuho raised AvalonBay Communities from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $239.00 to $242.00 in a report on Monday, January 6th. Piper Sandler cut their price target on AvalonBay Communities from $270.00 to $265.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised AvalonBay Communities from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $247.00 to $262.00 in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. Morgan Stanley downgraded AvalonBay Communities from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and cut their price target for the stock from $236.00 to $223.00 in a report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Evercore ISI lifted their target price on AvalonBay Communities from $230.00 to $240.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $238.64.

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.