AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB) Shares Sold by Gulf International Bank UK Ltd

Key Points

• Gulf International Bank UK Ltd reduced its holdings in AvalonBay Communities, Inc. by 25.8% during Q1, now owning 8,242 shares valued at approximately $1.77 million.
• AvalonBay has seen varying ratings from analysts; Mizuho maintained a "neutral" rating with a lowered price target, while Morgan Stanley upgraded to "overweight" but also reduced their price objective.
• The company reported a Q2 EPS of $2.82, exceeding expectations, but revenues came in below estimates at $689.90 million.

Gulf International Bank UK Ltd trimmed its holdings in AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB - Free Report) by 25.8% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 8,242 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after selling 2,872 shares during the quarter. Gulf International Bank UK Ltd's holdings in AvalonBay Communities were worth $1,768,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 0.4% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 22,672,682 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $4,866,011,000 after acquiring an additional 96,790 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its holdings in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 35.0% in 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 acquiring an additional 1,336,698 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its holdings in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 3.9% in the 1st quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 3,814,430 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $818,653,000 after acquiring an additional 143,646 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp increased its holdings in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 54.8% in the 4th 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 during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in AvalonBay Communities by 0.8% in the 1st quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,285,889 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $490,598,000 after buying an additional 19,188 shares during the period. 92.61% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AVB has been the topic of several recent research reports. Mizuho reissued a "neutral" rating and issued a $199.00 price objective (down from $213.00) on shares of AvalonBay Communities in a research note on Thursday. Morgan Stanley raised shares of AvalonBay Communities from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $228.00 to $225.00 in a research note on Wednesday. UBS Group dropped their price objective 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. Evercore ISI dropped their price objective on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $216.00 to $212.00 and set an "in-line" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada dropped their price objective on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $216.00 to $211.00 and set a "sector perform" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $225.64.

AvalonBay Communities Price Performance

AvalonBay Communities stock opened at $189.41 on Friday. AvalonBay Communities, Inc. has a 52 week low of $180.40 and a 52 week high of $239.29. The company has a quick ratio of 0.70, a current ratio of 0.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $199.92 and its 200 day simple moving average is $206.62. The firm has a market capitalization of $26.97 billion, a PE ratio of 23.33, a P/E/G ratio of 2.74 and a beta of 0.86.

AvalonBay Communities (NYSE:AVB - Get Free Report) last released 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. AvalonBay Communities had a net margin of 38.91% and a return on equity of 9.70%. The business had revenue of $689.90 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $759.08 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.77 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that AvalonBay Communities, Inc. will post 11.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AvalonBay Communities Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Investors of record on Monday, June 30th were given a $1.75 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 30th. This represents a $7.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.7%. AvalonBay Communities's payout ratio is currently 86.21%.

Insider Activity

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

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.

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