AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB) Shares Sold by Lazard Asset Management LLC

Lazard Asset Management LLC cut its holdings in shares of AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB - Free Report) by 37.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,326 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after selling 2,026 shares during the quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC's holdings in AvalonBay Communities were worth $731,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Ancora Advisors LLC increased its position in AvalonBay Communities by 1,666.7% during the fourth quarter. Ancora Advisors LLC now owns 159 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 150 shares during the last quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC purchased a new position in AvalonBay Communities in the fourth quarter worth approximately $36,000. Crowley Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new stake in AvalonBay Communities in the fourth quarter valued at $44,000. CoreCap Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 58.9% during the 4th quarter. CoreCap Advisors LLC now owns 251 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $55,000 after purchasing an additional 93 shares during the period. Finally, Generali Asset Management SPA SGR purchased a new stake in AvalonBay Communities in the 4th quarter valued at about $66,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.61% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. BMO Capital Markets cut shares of AvalonBay Communities from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating and set a $220.00 price target on the stock. in a research report on Friday, April 4th. Scotiabank boosted their price target on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $241.00 to $251.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Monday, May 12th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on AvalonBay Communities from $226.00 to $228.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 15th. Piper Sandler decreased their target price on AvalonBay Communities from $265.00 to $255.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Monday, May 5th. Finally, Barclays upped their price target on AvalonBay Communities from $227.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, May 9th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $239.93.

AvalonBay Communities Trading Down 0.1%

NYSE:AVB opened at $208.51 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 1.64 and a quick ratio of 1.64. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $205.73 and a 200 day simple moving average of $216.57. The firm has a market capitalization of $29.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.47, 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.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.80 by $0.03. AvalonBay Communities had a net margin of 37.13% and a return on equity of 9.15%. The business had revenue of $693.43 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $744.61 million. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.70 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that AvalonBay Communities, Inc. will post 11.48 EPS for the current year.

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.

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