Handelsbanken Fonder AB Sells 1,542 Shares of AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB)

Handelsbanken Fonder AB lowered its stake in AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB - Free Report) by 1.7% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 90,131 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after selling 1,542 shares during the period. Handelsbanken Fonder AB owned 0.06% of AvalonBay Communities worth $19,344,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. SG Americas Securities LLC boosted its stake in AvalonBay Communities by 3,071.6% during the 1st quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 24,199 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $5,194,000 after purchasing an additional 23,436 shares during the period. Pallas Capital Advisors LLC boosted its stake in AvalonBay Communities by 5.5% during the 1st quarter. Pallas Capital Advisors LLC now owns 17,829 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $3,826,000 after purchasing an additional 933 shares during the period. Farther Finance Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 14.2% during the first quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 1,148 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $246,000 after acquiring an additional 143 shares during the period. Vert Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in AvalonBay Communities by 5.0% during 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Park Avenue Securities LLC raised its holdings in AvalonBay Communities by 20.1% during the first quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 3,039 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $652,000 after purchasing an additional 508 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.61% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently commented on AVB shares. Morgan Stanley increased 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. Scotiabank reduced their price target on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $251.00 to $236.00 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a research report on Friday. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of AvalonBay Communities from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Saturday, May 31st. Barclays upped their price target on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $227.00 to $240.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, May 9th. Finally, 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. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $236.79.

AvalonBay Communities Stock Performance

NYSE AVB traded down $2.84 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $205.99. The company had a trading volume of 664,873 shares, compared to its average volume of 728,103. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $204.19 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $213.32. The stock has a market cap of $29.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.14, a P/E/G ratio of 3.11 and a beta of 0.86. AvalonBay Communities, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $180.40 and a fifty-two week high of $239.29. 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 (NYSE:AVB - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The real estate investment trust reported $2.83 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.80 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $693.43 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $744.61 million. AvalonBay Communities had a net margin of 37.13% and a return on equity of 9.15%. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.70 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that AvalonBay Communities, Inc. will post 11.48 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AvalonBay Communities Announces Dividend

The company 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 dividend of $1.75 per share. This represents a $7.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.40%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 30th. AvalonBay Communities's dividend 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.