Canton Hathaway LLC Takes Position in AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB)

Canton Hathaway LLC purchased a new stake in shares of AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 2,300 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock, valued at approximately $494,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AVB. Proathlete Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of AvalonBay Communities in the 1st quarter worth approximately $29,000. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of AvalonBay Communities in the 1st quarter worth approximately $33,000. Ancora Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 1,666.7% in the 4th quarter. Ancora Advisors LLC now owns 159 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 150 shares in the last quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC acquired a new position in AvalonBay Communities during the 4th quarter worth $36,000. Finally, Crowley Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new position in AvalonBay Communities during the 4th quarter worth $44,000. 92.61% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

AvalonBay Communities Stock Performance

Shares of AvalonBay Communities stock traded down $1.53 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $206.14. 1,351,876 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 733,441. AvalonBay Communities, Inc. has a 12 month low of $180.40 and a 12 month high of $239.29. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $205.50 and a 200 day simple moving average of $212.21. 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 company has a market capitalization of $29.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.64, a P/E/G ratio of 2.82 and a beta of 0.86.

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

AvalonBay Communities Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Investors of record on Monday, June 30th will be issued a $1.75 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 30th. This represents a $7.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.40%. AvalonBay Communities's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 87.17%.

Insider Buying and Selling at AvalonBay Communities

In other AvalonBay Communities news, CFO Kevin P. O'shea sold 6,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 16th. The shares were 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 now directly owns 22,782 shares in the company, valued at $4,728,859.74. This represents a 20.85% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Edward M. Schulman sold 5,945 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $205.67, for a total transaction of $1,222,708.15. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 17,617 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,623,288.39. The trade was 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

AVB has been the topic of several research reports. Scotiabank reduced their price objective on AvalonBay Communities from $251.00 to $236.00 and set a "sector perform" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, June 13th. BMO Capital Markets downgraded AvalonBay Communities from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating and set a $220.00 price objective on the stock. in a report on Friday, April 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on AvalonBay Communities from $251.00 to $249.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, June 17th. Piper Sandler cut their price target on 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, Mizuho lowered their price objective on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $238.00 to $213.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 23rd. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, AvalonBay Communities has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $235.86.

About AvalonBay Communities

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.