2,675 Shares in AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB) Purchased by Banque Cantonale Vaudoise

Key Points

• Banque Cantonale Vaudoise acquired 2,675 shares of AvalonBay Communities, Inc., valued at approximately $574,000, during the first quarter.
• AvalonBay Communities declared a quarterly dividend of $1.75 per share, yielding 3.8%, with a payout ratio of 86.21%.
• Several analysts have lowered their price targets for AvalonBay Communities, with an average target price now set at $234.43 and a consensus rating of "Hold."

Banque Cantonale Vaudoise purchased a new stake in AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 2,675 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock, valued at approximately $574,000.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its holdings in AvalonBay Communities by 35.0% during the 4th 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 in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp lifted its position in AvalonBay Communities by 54.8% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 2,642,743 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $581,324,000 after buying an additional 935,770 shares in the last quarter. Cohen & Steers Inc. grew its holdings in AvalonBay Communities by 25.7% during the 4th quarter. Cohen & Steers Inc. now owns 3,130,108 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $688,527,000 after acquiring an additional 639,402 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in AvalonBay Communities by 21,024.3% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 550,500 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $118,148,000 after acquiring an additional 547,894 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Adelante Capital Management LLC increased its position in AvalonBay Communities by 1,186.4% in the 4th quarter. Adelante Capital Management LLC now owns 400,444 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $88,086,000 after acquiring an additional 369,316 shares in the last quarter. 92.61% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

AvalonBay Communities Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:AVB opened at $184.35 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.51, a current ratio of 0.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71. The stock's 50 day moving average is $202.91 and its 200-day moving average is $208.48. The firm has a market capitalization of $26.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.70, a PEG ratio of 2.51 and a beta of 0.86. AvalonBay Communities, Inc. has a twelve month low of $180.40 and a twelve month high of $239.29.

AvalonBay Communities (NYSE:AVB - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 30th. The real estate investment trust reported $2.82 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.80 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $689.90 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $759.08 million. AvalonBay Communities had a net margin of 38.91% and a return on equity of 9.70%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.77 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that AvalonBay Communities, Inc. will post 11.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AvalonBay Communities Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Investors 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 dividend yield of 3.8%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 30th. AvalonBay Communities's dividend payout ratio is presently 86.21%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently commented on the stock. UBS Group decreased their price target on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $238.00 to $216.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, July 15th. Royal Bank Of Canada decreased their price objective on AvalonBay Communities from $216.00 to $211.00 and set a "sector perform" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on AvalonBay Communities from $251.00 to $249.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, June 17th. Piper Sandler decreased their price target on AvalonBay Communities from $265.00 to $255.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, May 5th. Finally, Barclays lifted their price objective on AvalonBay Communities from $240.00 to $241.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 15th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, AvalonBay Communities presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $234.43.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Kevin P. O'shea sold 6,000 shares of the 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 sale, the chief financial officer owned 22,782 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,728,859.74. This represents a 20.85% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Edward M. Schulman sold 5,945 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $205.67, for a total value of $1,222,708.15. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.45% of the company's stock.

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.

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