Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A. Sells 1,440 Shares of AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB)

Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A. reduced its stake in shares of AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB - Free Report) by 10.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 12,693 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after selling 1,440 shares during the period. Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A.'s holdings in AvalonBay Communities were worth $2,787,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in AvalonBay Communities in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,499,050,000. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its holdings in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 35.0% in the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 5,152,183 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $1,133,328,000 after purchasing an additional 1,336,698 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its position in shares of 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 worth $547,500,000 after purchasing an additional 828,009 shares in the last quarter. Cohen & Steers Inc. lifted its position in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 25.7% in the fourth quarter. Cohen & Steers Inc. now owns 3,130,108 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $688,527,000 after purchasing an additional 639,402 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Daiwa Securities Group Inc. boosted its holdings in AvalonBay Communities by 51.7% during the fourth 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. Institutional investors own 92.61% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AVB has been the topic of several analyst reports. Piper Sandler cut their price target on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $270.00 to $265.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $226.00 to $227.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, April 11th. Morgan Stanley cut shares of 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 research note on Friday, January 24th. Mizuho raised shares of AvalonBay Communities from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and upped their target price for the company from $239.00 to $242.00 in a report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Truist Financial lifted their price target on AvalonBay Communities from $229.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, March 10th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $237.47.

AvalonBay Communities Stock Performance

AVB stock traded up $2.87 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $210.05. 1,114,409 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 691,177. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $209.36 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $218.43. The firm has a market capitalization of $29.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.67, a P/E/G 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. The company has a current ratio of 1.64, a quick ratio of 1.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68.

AvalonBay Communities (NYSE:AVB - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The real estate investment trust reported $2.83 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.81 by $0.02. 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 fiscal year.

AvalonBay Communities Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st were paid a dividend of $1.75 per share. This represents a $7.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.33%. The ex-dividend date 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 (DPR) is 92.23%.

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.