Principal Financial Group Inc. Cuts Stock Holdings in AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB)

Principal Financial Group Inc. trimmed its holdings in AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB - Free Report) by 4.1% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 4,402,068 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after selling 188,471 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned approximately 3.09% of AvalonBay Communities worth $944,772,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. US Bancorp DE grew its stake in AvalonBay Communities by 1.9% in the fourth quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 19,794 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $4,354,000 after purchasing an additional 363 shares in the last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp grew its stake in AvalonBay Communities by 466.7% in the fourth quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 1,088 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $239,000 after purchasing an additional 896 shares in the last quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC grew its stake in AvalonBay Communities by 27.0% in the fourth quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 7,758 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $1,707,000 after purchasing an additional 1,647 shares in the last quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System boosted its position in AvalonBay Communities by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System now owns 41,511 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $9,131,000 after purchasing an additional 300 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in AvalonBay Communities by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,266,701 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $498,606,000 after purchasing an additional 26,265 shares during the last quarter. 92.61% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

AvalonBay Communities Price Performance

AVB traded up $1.91 during trading on Friday, reaching $203.91. The company's stock had a trading volume of 347,838 shares, compared to its average volume of 743,573. The company has a market cap of $29.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.39, a PEG ratio of 2.73 and a beta of 0.85. The company has a quick ratio of 0.51, a current ratio of 0.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $205.48 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $210.98. 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 announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The real estate investment trust reported $2.83 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.80 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $693.43 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $744.61 million. AvalonBay Communities had a return on equity of 9.65% and a net margin of 38.86%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.70 earnings per share. As a group, analysts anticipate that AvalonBay Communities, Inc. will post 11.48 EPS for the current year.

AvalonBay Communities Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 30th will be paid a $1.75 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 30th. This represents a $7.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.43%. AvalonBay Communities's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 87.17%.

Insider Buying and Selling at AvalonBay Communities

In related news, CFO Kevin P. O'shea sold 6,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, June 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $207.57, for a total transaction of $1,245,420.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 22,782 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,728,859.74. The trade was a 20.85% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Edward M. Schulman sold 5,945 shares of the business's 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 transaction, the executive vice president owned 17,617 shares of the company's stock, 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. Insiders own 0.45% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently commented on the company. Scotiabank decreased their price objective on AvalonBay Communities from $251.00 to $236.00 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a report on Friday, June 13th. Morgan Stanley lifted 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. Truist Financial lifted their price objective on AvalonBay Communities from $229.00 to $230.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, March 10th. Barclays raised their target price on AvalonBay Communities from $227.00 to $240.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, May 9th. Finally, Mizuho dropped their target price on AvalonBay Communities from $238.00 to $213.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 23rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $235.86.

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.