MQS Management LLC Acquires Shares of 8,830 AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB)

MQS Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 8,830 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock, valued at approximately $1,895,000. AvalonBay Communities comprises 1.1% of MQS Management LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its largest holding.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. SteelPeak Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of AvalonBay Communities during the first quarter valued at $2,367,000. Allworth Financial LP lifted its stake in AvalonBay Communities by 14.7% in the 1st quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 873 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $180,000 after acquiring an additional 112 shares in the last quarter. LBP AM SA lifted its stake in AvalonBay Communities by 3.4% in the 1st quarter. LBP AM SA now owns 52,030 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $11,167,000 after acquiring an additional 1,700 shares in the last quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale lifted its stake in AvalonBay Communities by 1.8% in the 1st quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 100,334 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $21,079,000 after acquiring an additional 1,790 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Brown Advisory Inc. lifted its stake in AvalonBay Communities by 12.0% in the 1st quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. now owns 16,596 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $3,562,000 after acquiring an additional 1,773 shares in the last quarter. 92.61% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

AvalonBay Communities Stock Down 0.4%

Shares of NYSE AVB traded down $0.89 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $201.81. 513,219 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 745,632. 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 stock has a market cap of $28.73 billion, a PE ratio of 25.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.72 and a beta of 0.85. The company's fifty day moving average is $204.74 and its two-hundred day moving average is $210.24. AvalonBay Communities, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $180.40 and a fifty-two week high of $239.29.

AvalonBay Communities (NYSE:AVB - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The real estate investment trust reported $2.83 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates 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 quarter last year, the firm posted $2.70 EPS. On average, analysts expect that AvalonBay Communities, Inc. will post 11.48 earnings per share for the current year.

AvalonBay Communities Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 30th will be issued a $1.75 dividend. This represents a $7.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.47%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 30th. AvalonBay Communities's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 87.17%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on AVB shares. 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 note on Friday, April 4th. Scotiabank reduced their price objective on AvalonBay Communities from $251.00 to $236.00 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, June 13th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on AvalonBay Communities from $226.00 to $228.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on AvalonBay Communities from $251.00 to $249.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, June 17th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded AvalonBay Communities from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Sunday, June 29th. 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, AvalonBay Communities has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $235.86.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CFO Kevin P. O'shea sold 6,000 shares of AvalonBay Communities stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $207.57, for a total transaction of $1,245,420.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 22,782 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,728,859.74. This trade represents a 20.85% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Edward M. Schulman sold 5,945 shares of AvalonBay Communities stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $205.67, for a total value of $1,222,708.15. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 17,617 shares in the company, valued at $3,623,288.39. The trade was a 25.23% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.45% of the company's stock.

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.