California Public Employees Retirement System Sells 17,068 Shares of AvalonBay Communities, Inc. $AVB

Key Points

• California Public Employees Retirement System cut its AvalonBay Communities stake by 5.5% in the first quarter, selling 17,068 shares and leaving it with 291,774 shares worth about $47.7 million.
• Analysts remain mostly cautious on AVB: the stock has an average “Hold” rating and a mean price target of $195.80, with several firms recently adjusting targets and ratings.
• AvalonBay reported Q1 earnings of $2.33 per share, missing estimates of $2.80, while revenue came in slightly above expectations; the company also paid a quarterly dividend of $1.78 per share, implying a 3.7% yield.

California Public Employees Retirement System reduced its position in shares of AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB - Free Report) by 5.5% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 291,774 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after selling 17,068 shares during the quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System owned about 0.21% of AvalonBay Communities worth $47,661,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Empowered Funds LLC boosted its stake in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 5.7% in the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 2,723 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $584,000 after purchasing an additional 148 shares during the last quarter. Guggenheim Capital LLC raised its stake in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 2.8% during the second quarter. Guggenheim Capital LLC now owns 4,759 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $968,000 after buying an additional 129 shares during the last quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. acquired a new position in AvalonBay Communities in the second quarter valued at approximately $1,374,000. Cresset Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in AvalonBay Communities by 14.2% in the second quarter. Cresset Asset Management LLC now owns 2,890 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $591,000 after acquiring an additional 360 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of Nova Scotia boosted its stake in AvalonBay Communities by 9.5% in the second quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 18,854 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $3,837,000 after acquiring an additional 1,629 shares during the last quarter. 92.61% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have commented on the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their target price on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $180.00 to $188.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded AvalonBay Communities to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, June 26th. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an "equal weight" rating and set a $203.00 price objective (down from $208.00) on shares of AvalonBay Communities in a research note on Thursday, March 26th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "hold (c)" rating on shares of AvalonBay Communities in a report on Monday, July 6th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised AvalonBay Communities from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, May 9th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and fifteen have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, AvalonBay Communities has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $195.80.

AvalonBay Communities Trading Down 0.4%

AVB opened at $191.84 on Tuesday. The firm's fifty day moving average is $187.02 and its two-hundred day moving average is $179.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a current ratio of 0.62. The firm has a market cap of $27.25 billion, a PE ratio of 27.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.35 and a beta of 0.77. AvalonBay Communities, Inc. has a twelve month low of $160.10 and a twelve month high of $205.00.

AvalonBay Communities (NYSE:AVB - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The real estate investment trust reported $2.33 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $2.80 by ($0.47). AvalonBay Communities had a return on equity of 9.56% and a net margin of 37.21%.The firm had revenue of $770.28 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $768.80 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.83 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that AvalonBay Communities, Inc. will post 11.28 EPS for the current year.

AvalonBay Communities Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 30th were issued a dividend of $1.78 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, June 30th. This represents a $7.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.7%. AvalonBay Communities's payout ratio is currently 103.19%.

AvalonBay Communities Company Profile

AvalonBay Communities, Inc NYSE: AVB is a publicly traded real estate investment trust (REIT) that owns, develops, redevelops and manages multifamily residential properties. The company focuses on professionally managed apartment communities, offering a range of rental housing options and related resident services. As a REIT, AvalonBay's core activities center on the acquisition and development of apartment assets and the ongoing operations and leasing of those communities.

AvalonBay's operating activities include ground-up development, strategic redevelopment of existing properties, property and asset management, and on-site leasing and resident services.

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