Guggenheim Capital LLC Sells 46,123 Shares of AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB)

Guggenheim Capital LLC trimmed its position in shares of AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB) by 89.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 5,609 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 46,123 shares during the quarter. Guggenheim Capital LLC’s holdings in AvalonBay Communities were worth $1,234,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. XTX Topco Ltd purchased a new position in AvalonBay Communities during the fourth quarter worth about $899,000. Mariner LLC grew its holdings in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 8.4% in the fourth quarter. Mariner LLC now owns 17,027 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $3,745,000 after acquiring an additional 1,326 shares in the last quarter. Cohen & Steers Inc. increased its position in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 25.7% during the fourth 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. Savvy Advisors Inc. increased its position in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 18.4% during the fourth quarter. Savvy Advisors Inc. now owns 5,587 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $1,229,000 after acquiring an additional 869 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Townsquare Capital LLC lifted its holdings in AvalonBay Communities by 9.4% during the fourth quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC now owns 5,359 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $1,179,000 after acquiring an additional 459 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 92.61% of the company’s stock.

AvalonBay Communities Price Performance

AVB stock opened at $201.90 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $210.76 and a 200-day moving average of $218.91. The company has a current ratio of 1.64, a quick ratio of 1.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68. The firm has a market capitalization of $28.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.11 and a beta of 0.86. AvalonBay Communities, Inc. has a 12 month low of $180.40 and a 12 month high of $239.29.

AvalonBay Communities (NYSE:AVB) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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 net margin of 37.13% and a return on equity of 9.15%. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that AvalonBay Communities, Inc. will post 11.48 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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 paid a $1.75 dividend. This is a positive change from AvalonBay Communities’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.70. This represents a $7.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.47%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 31st. AvalonBay Communities’s dividend payout ratio is currently 92.23%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on AVB. BMO Capital Markets lowered AvalonBay Communities from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and set a $220.00 target price for the company. in a research report on Friday, April 4th. Zelman & Associates upgraded shares of AvalonBay Communities from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Morgan Stanley downgraded shares of AvalonBay Communities from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and reduced their target price for the company from $236.00 to $223.00 in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Piper Sandler dropped their price objective on AvalonBay Communities from $270.00 to $265.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, Barclays raised their target price on AvalonBay Communities from $226.00 to $227.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $237.47.

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.