AvalonBay Communities (NYSE:AVB) Price Target Raised to $241.00

AvalonBay Communities (NYSE:AVB - Free Report) had its target price boosted by Barclays from $240.00 to $241.00 in a research report released on Tuesday morning,Benzinga reports. Barclays currently has an equal weight rating on the real estate investment trust's stock.

Other analysts have also issued reports about the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on AvalonBay Communities from $251.00 to $249.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, June 17th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of AvalonBay Communities from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Sunday, June 29th. Royal Bank Of Canada cut their price target on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $223.00 to $220.00 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 8th. Scotiabank reduced their price objective on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $251.00 to $236.00 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, June 13th. Finally, Mizuho dropped their target price on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $238.00 to $213.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 23rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $235.07.

AvalonBay Communities Stock Performance

AvalonBay Communities stock traded up $2.47 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $201.95. 606,510 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 746,246. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a current ratio of 0.51 and a quick ratio of 0.51. The firm's fifty day moving average is $204.30 and its two-hundred day moving average is $209.88. AvalonBay Communities has a fifty-two week low of $180.40 and a fifty-two week high of $239.29. The company has a market capitalization of $28.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.68 and a beta of 0.85.

AvalonBay Communities (NYSE:AVB - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The real estate investment trust reported $2.83 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.80 by $0.03. AvalonBay Communities had a net margin of 38.86% and a return on equity of 9.65%. The company had revenue of $693.43 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $744.61 million. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.70 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that AvalonBay Communities will post 11.48 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AvalonBay Communities Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 30th were paid a dividend of $1.75 per share. 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, June 30th. AvalonBay Communities's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 87.17%.

Insider Buying and Selling at AvalonBay Communities

In related news, EVP Edward M. Schulman sold 5,945 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $205.67, for a total value of $1,222,708.15. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 17,617 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,623,288.39. This represents a 25.23% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO Kevin P. O'shea sold 6,000 shares of AvalonBay Communities stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $207.57, for a total transaction of $1,245,420.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 22,782 shares in the company, valued at $4,728,859.74. This trade represents a 20.85% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.45% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of AvalonBay Communities

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in AvalonBay Communities during the fourth quarter worth about $1,499,050,000. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its position in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 35.0% during the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 5,152,183 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $1,133,328,000 after acquiring an additional 1,336,698 shares during the period. Nuveen LLC acquired a new stake in shares of AvalonBay Communities in the first quarter valued at $280,226,000. Northern Trust Corp raised its stake in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 54.8% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 2,642,743 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $581,324,000 after acquiring an additional 935,770 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its holdings in AvalonBay Communities by 49.9% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,488,975 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $547,500,000 after purchasing an additional 828,009 shares during the period. 92.61% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About AvalonBay Communities

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.