AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB) Shares Sold by Bessemer Group Inc.

Bessemer Group Inc. reduced its stake in AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB - Free Report) by 62.0% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 5,812 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after selling 9,494 shares during the quarter. Bessemer Group Inc.'s holdings in AvalonBay Communities were worth $1,246,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Hsbc Holdings PLC lifted its stake in AvalonBay Communities by 1.4% in the fourth quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 604,010 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $132,751,000 after purchasing an additional 8,439 shares during the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. raised its position in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 14.1% during the 4th quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 344,139 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $75,701,000 after buying an additional 42,416 shares in the last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp lifted its stake in AvalonBay Communities by 466.7% during 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 during the last quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC raised its stake in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 7.5% during the fourth quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 20,783 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $4,572,000 after acquiring an additional 1,441 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vert Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in AvalonBay Communities by 5.0% in the first quarter. Vert Asset Management LLC now owns 66,660 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $14,307,000 after purchasing an additional 3,199 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.61% of the company's stock.

AvalonBay Communities Trading Down 0.1%

Shares of AvalonBay Communities stock traded down $0.21 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $203.29. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,077,763 shares, compared to its average volume of 743,467. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $205.74 and a 200-day moving average of $211.42. AvalonBay Communities, Inc. has a twelve month low of $180.40 and a twelve month high of $239.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a quick ratio of 0.51 and a current ratio of 0.51. The stock has a market cap of $28.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.32, a P/E/G ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 0.85.

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 for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.80 by $0.03. The business 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 prior year, the company earned $2.70 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that AvalonBay Communities, Inc. will post 11.48 EPS for the current year.

AvalonBay Communities Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Investors of record on Monday, June 30th will be given a $1.75 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 30th. This represents a $7.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.44%. AvalonBay Communities's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 87.17%.

Insider Activity at AvalonBay Communities

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on AVB shares. Wall Street Zen cut AvalonBay Communities from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Sunday. Scotiabank lowered their price objective on AvalonBay Communities from $251.00 to $236.00 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, June 13th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target 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. Mizuho dropped their price target on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $238.00 to $213.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 23rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on AvalonBay Communities from $251.00 to $249.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, June 17th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, AvalonBay Communities has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $235.86.

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.