Jennison Associates LLC Decreases Stock Holdings in AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB)

Jennison Associates LLC decreased its holdings in AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB - Free Report) by 3.3% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 124,096 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after selling 4,229 shares during the quarter. Jennison Associates LLC owned approximately 0.09% of AvalonBay Communities worth $26,633,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Proathlete Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in AvalonBay Communities during the first quarter valued at $29,000. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of AvalonBay Communities in the 1st quarter worth about $33,000. Ancora Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 1,666.7% in the 4th quarter. Ancora Advisors LLC now owns 159 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 150 shares during the last quarter. Crowley Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new stake in AvalonBay Communities in the 4th quarter valued at about $44,000. Finally, Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. purchased a new stake in AvalonBay Communities in the 4th quarter valued at about $53,000. Institutional investors own 92.61% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CFO Kevin P. O'shea sold 6,000 shares of AvalonBay Communities stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the chief financial officer owned 22,782 shares in the company, valued at $4,728,859.74. This trade represents a 20.85% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Edward M. Schulman sold 5,945 shares of AvalonBay Communities stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the executive vice president owned 17,617 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,623,288.39. The trade was a 25.23% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.45% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have commented on the stock. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $240.00 to $241.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 15th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of AvalonBay Communities from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Sunday, June 29th. Scotiabank reduced their target price 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. Piper Sandler reduced their target price on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $265.00 to $255.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, May 5th. Finally, Mizuho reduced their target price on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $238.00 to $213.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 23rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $235.07.

AvalonBay Communities Price Performance

Shares of AvalonBay Communities stock traded up $0.44 on Friday, hitting $202.57. 474,927 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 748,461. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $204.20 and its 200 day simple moving average is $209.57. The company has a current ratio of 0.51, a quick ratio of 0.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70. The company has a market cap of $28.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.23, a P/E/G ratio of 2.72 and a beta of 0.85. AvalonBay Communities, Inc. has a 12-month low of $180.40 and a 12-month high of $239.29.

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

AvalonBay Communities Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 30th were given a dividend of $1.75 per share. This represents a $7.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.46%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 30th. AvalonBay Communities's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 87.17%.

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.