Lasalle Investment Management Securities LLC Cuts Position in AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB)

Lasalle Investment Management Securities LLC decreased its position in AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB) by 38.5% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 316,082 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 197,881 shares during the quarter. AvalonBay Communities makes up 2.9% of Lasalle Investment Management Securities LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 14th biggest holding. Lasalle Investment Management Securities LLC’s holdings in AvalonBay Communities were worth $69,529,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. MML Investors Services LLC raised its holdings in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 19.4% in the 3rd quarter. MML Investors Services LLC now owns 3,005 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $677,000 after purchasing an additional 489 shares in the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new stake in AvalonBay Communities in the third quarter valued at $126,000. Tidal Investments LLC lifted its holdings in AvalonBay Communities by 18.9% during the 3rd quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 76,652 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $17,266,000 after buying an additional 12,165 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its position in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 11.6% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 212,338 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $47,056,000 after acquiring an additional 22,076 shares in the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its holdings in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 1.4% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 4,060,497 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $914,627,000 after acquiring an additional 55,588 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.61% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AVB has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Barclays upped their price target on AvalonBay Communities from $226.00 to $227.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, April 11th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $226.00 to $229.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. Truist Financial lifted their price target on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $229.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, March 10th. Zelman & Associates upgraded shares of AvalonBay Communities from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lowered AvalonBay Communities from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and set a $220.00 price objective on the stock. in a report on Friday, April 4th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $237.47.

AvalonBay Communities Stock Up 1.4 %

Shares of AvalonBay Communities stock opened at $202.93 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $28.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.74, a PEG ratio of 3.11 and a beta of 0.86. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $211.08 and a two-hundred day moving average of $219.06. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 1.64 and a current ratio of 1.64. AvalonBay Communities, Inc. has a one year low of $180.40 and a one year high of $239.29.

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

AvalonBay Communities Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st were issued a dividend of $1.75 per share. This represents a $7.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.45%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 31st. This is a positive change from AvalonBay Communities’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.70. AvalonBay Communities’s dividend payout ratio is currently 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.