AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB) Position Reduced by Royal Bank of Canada

Royal Bank of Canada cut its holdings in AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB - Free Report) by 20.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 165,001 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after selling 42,073 shares during the period. Royal Bank of Canada owned 0.12% of AvalonBay Communities worth $36,296,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in AVB. Signaturefd LLC increased its stake in AvalonBay Communities by 4.0% in the fourth quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 1,616 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $356,000 after purchasing an additional 62 shares during the last quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC lifted its position in AvalonBay Communities by 2.6% during the fourth quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 2,512 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $553,000 after buying an additional 63 shares during the period. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund grew its holdings in AvalonBay Communities by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 12,179 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $2,679,000 after buying an additional 69 shares during the period. Greenleaf Trust grew its holdings in AvalonBay Communities by 2.4% in the 4th quarter. Greenleaf Trust now owns 3,028 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $666,000 after buying an additional 70 shares during the period. Finally, MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. increased its stake in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 26,953 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $5,929,000 after acquiring an additional 72 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.61% of the company's stock.

AvalonBay Communities Stock Down 0.9%

NYSE:AVB traded down $1.74 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $198.13. The company had a trading volume of 882,094 shares, compared to its average volume of 711,072. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $205.10 and a 200-day simple moving average of $216.08. The firm has a market capitalization of $28.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.10, a PEG ratio of 3.11 and a beta of 0.86. AvalonBay Communities, Inc. has a 1 year low of $180.40 and a 1 year high of $239.29. The company has a current ratio of 1.64, a quick ratio of 1.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68.

AvalonBay Communities (NYSE:AVB - Get Free Report) last posted 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 business had revenue of $693.43 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $744.61 million. AvalonBay Communities had a return on equity of 9.15% and a net margin of 37.13%. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.70 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that AvalonBay Communities, Inc. will post 11.48 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AvalonBay Communities Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 30th will be given a $1.75 dividend. This represents a $7.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.53%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 30th. AvalonBay Communities's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 87.17%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently issued reports on AVB. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $226.00 to $228.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 15th. Truist Financial lifted their price target on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $229.00 to $230.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, March 10th. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $230.00 to $240.00 and gave the company an "in-line" rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Scotiabank upped their price objective on AvalonBay Communities from $241.00 to $251.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a report on Monday, May 12th. Finally, Zelman & Associates upgraded AvalonBay Communities from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $237.86.

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.