AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB) Stock Position Boosted by Invesco Ltd.

Key Points

• Invesco Ltd. increased its stake in AvalonBay Communities, Inc. by 5.1%, owning over 1.5 million shares valued at approximately $327 million.
• AvalonBay reported EPS of $2.82 in its latest quarterly earnings, surpassing estimates, but revenues fell short of expectations at $689.9 million.
• The company has declared a quarterly dividend of $1.75 per share, reflecting an annualized dividend yield of 3.8% with a payout ratio of 86.21%.

Invesco Ltd. boosted its stake in AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB - Free Report) by 5.1% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,523,934 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after buying an additional 74,368 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. owned 1.07% of AvalonBay Communities worth $327,067,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of AVB. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in AvalonBay Communities in the 4th quarter valued at about $35,153,000. Sterling Capital Management LLC grew its position in AvalonBay Communities by 56.3% in the 4th quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 8,453 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $1,859,000 after buying an additional 3,044 shares in the last quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. grew its position in AvalonBay Communities by 5.2% in the 4th quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 11,100 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $2,441,000 after buying an additional 551 shares in the last quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC grew its position in AvalonBay Communities by 9.4% in the 4th quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC now owns 5,359 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $1,179,000 after buying an additional 459 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Savvy Advisors Inc. grew its position in AvalonBay Communities by 18.4% in the 4th quarter. Savvy Advisors Inc. now owns 5,587 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $1,229,000 after buying an additional 869 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.61% of the company's stock.

AvalonBay Communities Stock Performance

Shares of AVB opened at $185.13 on Tuesday. AvalonBay Communities, Inc. has a one year low of $180.40 and a one year high of $239.29. The company has a 50-day moving average of $200.81 and a two-hundred day moving average of $207.08. The stock has a market cap of $26.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.80, a PEG ratio of 2.51 and a beta of 0.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 0.70 and a quick ratio of 0.70.

AvalonBay Communities (NYSE:AVB - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results 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 company had revenue of $689.90 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $759.08 million. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.77 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that AvalonBay Communities, Inc. will post 11.48 earnings per share for the current year.

AvalonBay Communities Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 30th were given a $1.75 dividend. This represents a $7.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 30th. AvalonBay Communities's dividend payout ratio is 86.21%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AVB has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Royal Bank Of Canada decreased their target price on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $216.00 to $211.00 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, August 1st. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $226.00 to $228.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 15th. Scotiabank reduced their price objective 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. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of AvalonBay Communities from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, August 2nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $251.00 to $249.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, June 17th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, AvalonBay Communities currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $228.79.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Edward M. Schulman sold 5,945 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the executive vice president directly owned 17,617 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,623,288.39. This represents a 25.23% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO Kevin P. O'shea sold 6,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 22,782 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,728,859.74. This trade represents a 20.85% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.48% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.

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