Mizuho Securities USA LLC Sells 2,088 Shares of AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB)

Key Points

• Mizuho Securities USA LLC reduced its holdings in AvalonBay Communities, Inc. by 15.5%, selling 2,088 shares during the first quarter, leaving them with 11,375 shares valued at approximately $2.44 million.
• AvalonBay Communities reported $2.82 earnings per share for the last quarter, which exceeded analysts' expectations, though their revenue of <$759.08 million fell short of estimates.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $1.75, representing an annualized payout of $7.00 with a dividend yield of 3.7%, having a payout ratio of 86.21%.

Mizuho Securities USA LLC decreased its holdings in shares of AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB - Free Report) by 15.5% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 11,375 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after selling 2,088 shares during the period. Mizuho Securities USA LLC's holdings in AvalonBay Communities were worth $2,441,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of AVB. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its stake in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 35.0% during the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 5,152,183 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $1,133,328,000 after acquiring an additional 1,336,698 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp lifted its holdings in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 54.8% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 2,642,743 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $581,324,000 after purchasing an additional 935,770 shares during the period. Cohen & Steers Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 25.7% during 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 during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 21,024.3% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 550,500 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $118,148,000 after purchasing an additional 547,894 shares during the period. Finally, Adelante Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 1,186.4% during the fourth quarter. Adelante Capital Management LLC now owns 400,444 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $88,086,000 after purchasing an additional 369,316 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.61% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at AvalonBay Communities

In related news, EVP Edward M. Schulman sold 5,945 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, June 13th. The shares were 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 directly 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, 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 transaction, 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.45% of the stock is owned by insiders.

AvalonBay Communities Price Performance

NYSE AVB traded up $0.74 during trading on Friday, reaching $190.06. 137,184 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 815,103. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a quick ratio of 0.70 and a current ratio of 0.70. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $199.92 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $206.62. The company has a market cap of $27.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.40, a P/E/G ratio of 2.74 and a beta of 0.86. AvalonBay Communities, Inc. has a 1-year low of $180.40 and a 1-year high of $239.29.

AvalonBay Communities (NYSE:AVB - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 30th. The real estate investment trust reported $2.82 earnings per share 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 firm had revenue of $689.90 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $759.08 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.77 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that AvalonBay Communities, Inc. will post 11.48 EPS for the current year.

AvalonBay Communities Announces Dividend

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AVB has been the subject of a number of research reports. Scotiabank decreased their target price on AvalonBay Communities from $236.00 to $226.00 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a report on Thursday. Wall Street Zen raised AvalonBay Communities from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, August 2nd. Barclays decreased their price target on AvalonBay Communities from $241.00 to $228.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday. Royal Bank Of Canada decreased their price target on AvalonBay Communities from $216.00 to $211.00 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 1st. Finally, Piper Sandler restated a "neutral" rating and issued a $200.00 price objective (down from $255.00) on shares of AvalonBay Communities in a research report on Monday, August 4th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $225.64.

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.