Brown Advisory Inc. Purchases 1,773 Shares of AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB)

Brown Advisory Inc. increased its position in shares of AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB - Free Report) by 12.0% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 16,596 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after purchasing an additional 1,773 shares during the period. Brown Advisory Inc.'s holdings in AvalonBay Communities were worth $3,562,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of AVB. Proathlete Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in AvalonBay Communities during the first quarter valued at about $29,000. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of AvalonBay Communities during the first quarter worth about $33,000. Ancora Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 1,666.7% during the fourth quarter. Ancora Advisors LLC now owns 159 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 150 shares in the last quarter. Crowley Wealth Management Inc. bought a new stake in AvalonBay Communities during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $44,000. Finally, Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. purchased a new position in AvalonBay Communities in the 4th quarter worth approximately $53,000. 92.61% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at AvalonBay Communities

In other AvalonBay Communities news, EVP Edward M. Schulman sold 5,945 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, June 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $205.67, for a total value of $1,222,708.15. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 17,617 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,623,288.39. This represents a 25.23% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Kevin P. O'shea sold 6,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, June 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $207.57, for a total value of $1,245,420.00. Following the completion of the sale, 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 position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.45% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have issued reports on AVB. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $227.00 to $240.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, May 9th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $226.00 to $228.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, May 15th. Piper Sandler decreased their price target 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. Wall Street Zen lowered AvalonBay Communities from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Sunday, June 29th. Finally, Scotiabank decreased their target price on AvalonBay Communities from $251.00 to $236.00 and set a "sector perform" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, June 13th. One research 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 data from MarketBeat.com, AvalonBay Communities presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $235.86.

AvalonBay Communities Price Performance

Shares of AvalonBay Communities stock opened at $201.81 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $28.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.72 and a beta of 0.85. 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 50 day moving average price of $204.74 and a 200-day moving average price of $210.24. AvalonBay Communities, Inc. has a one year low of $180.40 and a one year high of $239.29.

AvalonBay Communities (NYSE:AVB - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The real estate investment trust reported $2.83 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.80 by $0.03. AvalonBay Communities had a return on equity of 9.65% and a net margin of 38.86%. The company had revenue of $693.43 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $744.61 million. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.70 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that AvalonBay Communities, Inc. will post 11.48 EPS for the current year.

AvalonBay Communities Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed 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. This represents a $7.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.47%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 30th. AvalonBay Communities's payout ratio is currently 87.17%.

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.

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