AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB) Shares Sold by Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA

Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA trimmed its position in AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB - Free Report) by 2.9% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 69,414 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after selling 2,090 shares during the quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA's holdings in AvalonBay Communities were worth $14,898,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in AvalonBay Communities during the 4th quarter worth $1,499,050,000. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its stake in AvalonBay Communities by 35.0% during the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 5,152,183 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $1,133,328,000 after acquiring an additional 1,336,698 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp raised its stake in AvalonBay Communities by 54.8% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 2,642,743 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $581,324,000 after acquiring an additional 935,770 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its stake in AvalonBay Communities by 49.9% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,488,975 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $547,500,000 after acquiring an additional 828,009 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cohen & Steers Inc. grew its position in AvalonBay Communities by 25.7% during the 4th quarter. Cohen & Steers Inc. now owns 3,130,108 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $688,527,000 after purchasing an additional 639,402 shares during the last quarter. 92.61% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AVB has been the topic of several analyst reports. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $251.00 to $249.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, June 17th. UBS Group lowered their target price on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $238.00 to $216.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. Royal Bank Of Canada lowered their target price on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $223.00 to $220.00 and set a "sector perform" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 8th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of AvalonBay Communities from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Sunday, June 29th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $235.07.

Insider Activity at AvalonBay Communities

In other news, 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 represents a 25.23% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO Kevin P. O'shea sold 6,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the chief financial officer owned 22,782 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,728,859.74. This trade represents a 20.85% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.48% of the company's stock.

AvalonBay Communities Price Performance

Shares of NYSE AVB traded down $1.09 on Monday, hitting $201.55. The company's stock had a trading volume of 202,808 shares, compared to its average volume of 746,300. AvalonBay Communities, Inc. has a 12-month low of $180.40 and a 12-month high of $239.29. The company has a market capitalization of $28.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.10, 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 current ratio of 0.51 and a quick ratio of 0.51. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $204.20 and a 200-day moving average of $209.52.

AvalonBay Communities (NYSE:AVB - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The real estate investment trust reported $2.83 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.80 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $693.43 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 in the prior year, the firm posted $2.70 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that AvalonBay Communities, Inc. will post 11.48 EPS for the current year.

AvalonBay Communities Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Investors of record on Monday, June 30th were given a dividend of $1.75 per share. This represents a $7.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.47%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 30th. AvalonBay Communities's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 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.