United Capital Financial Advisors LLC Sells 152 Shares of AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB)

United Capital Financial Advisors LLC trimmed its holdings in AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB) by 3.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 4,422 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 152 shares during the period. United Capital Financial Advisors LLC’s holdings in AvalonBay Communities were worth $973,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank purchased a new position in AvalonBay Communities in the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,499,050,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its position in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 4,590,539 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $1,009,781,000 after buying an additional 27,629 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its holdings in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 1.4% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 4,060,497 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $914,627,000 after buying an additional 55,588 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in AvalonBay Communities by 3.0% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,693,457 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $810,470,000 after acquiring an additional 107,655 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cohen & Steers Inc. increased its holdings in AvalonBay Communities by 25.7% in the 4th quarter. Cohen & Steers Inc. now owns 3,130,108 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $688,527,000 after acquiring an additional 639,402 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.61% of the company’s stock.

AvalonBay Communities Price Performance

Shares of AVB stock opened at $202.93 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $28.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.74, a P/E/G ratio of 3.11 and a beta of 0.86. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $211.08 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $219.06. AvalonBay Communities, Inc. has a one year low of $180.40 and a one year high of $239.29. 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 (NYSE:AVB) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The real estate investment trust reported $2.80 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.83 by ($0.03). AvalonBay Communities had a return on equity of 9.15% and a net margin of 37.13%. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that AvalonBay Communities, Inc. will post 11.48 EPS for the current year.

AvalonBay Communities Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st were issued a dividend of $1.75 per share. This represents a $7.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.45%. This is a boost from AvalonBay Communities’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.70. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 31st. AvalonBay Communities’s dividend payout ratio is presently 92.23%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Evercore ISI raised their price objective on AvalonBay Communities from $230.00 to $240.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Morgan Stanley cut AvalonBay Communities from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and cut their price target for the company from $236.00 to $223.00 in a report on Friday, January 24th. Truist Financial upped their price objective on AvalonBay Communities from $229.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, March 10th. Mizuho raised shares of AvalonBay Communities from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their target price for the company from $239.00 to $242.00 in a report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets downgraded shares of AvalonBay Communities from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and set a $220.00 price target on the stock. in a research note on Friday, April 4th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $237.47.

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.