Retirement Planning Co of New England Inc. Acquires Shares of 2,390 AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB)

Retirement Planning Co of New England Inc. bought a new position in shares of AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 2,390 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock, valued at approximately $513,000.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of AVB. Proathlete Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in AvalonBay Communities during the 1st quarter worth $29,000. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of AvalonBay Communities in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Ancora Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 1,666.7% during 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 during the period. Crowley Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of AvalonBay Communities during the 4th quarter worth approximately $44,000. Finally, Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. bought a new position in AvalonBay Communities in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $53,000. Institutional investors own 92.61% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other AvalonBay Communities news, CFO Kevin P. O'shea sold 6,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 22,782 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,728,859.74. This trade represents a 20.85% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Edward M. Schulman sold 5,945 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, June 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $205.67, for a total transaction of $1,222,708.15. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 17,617 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,623,288.39. The trade was 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

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on AVB shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on AvalonBay Communities from $251.00 to $249.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, June 17th. BMO Capital Markets downgraded AvalonBay Communities from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating and set a $220.00 target price for the company. in a research report on Friday, April 4th. Mizuho reduced their price target on AvalonBay Communities from $238.00 to $213.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 23rd. Barclays upped their price objective on AvalonBay Communities from $240.00 to $241.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada cut 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 research report on Thursday, May 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $235.07.

AvalonBay Communities Stock Up 0.2%

AvalonBay Communities stock opened at $202.34 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.51, a current ratio of 0.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70. The company has a market capitalization of $28.81 billion, a PE ratio of 25.20, a PEG ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.85. The firm's fifty day moving average is $204.26 and its 200 day moving average is $209.76. AvalonBay Communities, Inc. has a 12-month low of $180.40 and a 12-month high of $239.29.

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 for the quarter, beating 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 net margin of 38.86% and a return on equity of 9.65%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.70 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that AvalonBay Communities, Inc. will post 11.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AvalonBay Communities Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Investors of record on Monday, June 30th were given a $1.75 dividend. This represents a $7.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.46%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 30th. AvalonBay Communities's 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.

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