Lbp Am Sa Boosts Stock Position in AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB)

LBP AM SA lifted its holdings in shares of AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB - Free Report) by 3.4% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 52,030 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after purchasing an additional 1,700 shares during the period. LBP AM SA's holdings in AvalonBay Communities were worth $11,167,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in AVB. Proathlete Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of AvalonBay Communities during the first quarter valued at about $29,000. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of AvalonBay Communities during the first quarter worth about $33,000. Ancora Advisors LLC grew its holdings 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. purchased a new stake in AvalonBay Communities in the fourth quarter worth approximately $44,000. Finally, Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. purchased a new stake in AvalonBay Communities in the fourth quarter worth approximately $53,000. 92.61% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Kevin P. O'shea sold 6,000 shares of the company's 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 transaction, the chief financial officer owned 22,782 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,728,859.74. This represents a 20.85% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed 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 on Friday, June 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $205.67, for a total value of $1,222,708.15. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 17,617 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,623,288.39. This trade represents a 25.23% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.45% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have weighed in on AVB. Wall Street Zen downgraded AvalonBay Communities from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Sunday, June 29th. BMO Capital Markets downgraded AvalonBay Communities from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating and set a $220.00 price objective for the company. in a research report on Friday, April 4th. 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 report on Friday, June 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on AvalonBay Communities from $251.00 to $249.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, June 17th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada decreased their target price on AvalonBay Communities from $223.00 to $220.00 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $235.86.

AvalonBay Communities Stock Down 0.4%

Shares of AVB traded down $0.89 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $201.81. The company had a trading volume of 513,219 shares, compared to its average volume of 745,521. The company's fifty day moving average price is $204.74 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $210.33. The company has a current ratio of 0.51, a quick ratio of 0.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70. AvalonBay Communities, Inc. has a one year low of $180.40 and a one year high of $239.29. The company has a market capitalization of $28.73 billion, a PE ratio of 25.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.73 and a beta of 0.85.

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 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 period last year, the company earned $2.70 earnings per share. As a group, 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. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 30th will be paid a $1.75 dividend. This represents a $7.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.47%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 30th. AvalonBay Communities's dividend payout ratio is presently 87.17%.

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.