AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB) Shares Sold by Sterling Investment Management LLC

Sterling Investment Management LLC reduced its holdings in shares of AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB - Free Report) by 20.0% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 5,953 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after selling 1,488 shares during the quarter. Sterling Investment Management LLC's holdings in AvalonBay Communities were worth $1,278,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in AVB. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. raised its stake in AvalonBay Communities by 29.6% in the 4th quarter. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. now owns 1,260 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $277,000 after acquiring an additional 288 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its stake in AvalonBay Communities by 10.2% in the 4th quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 2,575 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $566,000 after purchasing an additional 238 shares in the last quarter. Entropy Technologies LP purchased a new stake in AvalonBay Communities in the 4th quarter worth approximately $309,000. Savant Capital LLC raised its position in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 8.7% during the 4th quarter. Savant Capital LLC now owns 1,264 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $278,000 after buying an additional 101 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Portfolio Design Labs LLC raised its position in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 27.0% during the 4th quarter. Portfolio Design Labs LLC now owns 22,356 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $4,918,000 after buying an additional 4,747 shares in the last quarter. 92.61% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on AVB shares. Barclays raised their price target on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $227.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, May 9th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $226.00 to $228.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 15th. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price objective on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $223.00 to $220.00 and set a "sector perform" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 8th. Piper Sandler dropped their price objective on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $265.00 to $255.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, May 5th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets cut AvalonBay Communities from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating and set a $220.00 price objective on the stock. in a research report on Friday, April 4th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, AvalonBay Communities currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $237.86.

AvalonBay Communities Stock Performance

Shares of AVB traded up $2.29 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $208.83. 587,632 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 726,394. The stock has a market capitalization of $29.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.51, a P/E/G ratio of 3.11 and a beta of 0.86. The company has a quick ratio of 1.64, a current ratio of 1.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68. AvalonBay Communities, Inc. has a 12-month low of $180.40 and a 12-month high of $239.29. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $203.41 and a 200-day moving average price of $213.85.

AvalonBay Communities (NYSE:AVB - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The real estate investment trust reported $2.83 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.80 by $0.03. AvalonBay Communities had a net margin of 37.13% and a return on equity of 9.15%. The firm had revenue of $693.43 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $744.61 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.70 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that AvalonBay Communities, Inc. will post 11.48 EPS for the current fiscal 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 issued a $1.75 dividend. This represents a $7.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.35%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 30th. AvalonBay Communities's payout ratio is 87.17%.

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.