AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB) Stock Holdings Cut by Russell Investments Group Ltd.

Key Points

• Russell Investments Group Ltd. reduced its stake in AvalonBay Communities by 12.0%, selling 83,023 shares to hold approximately 607,899 shares worth $130.45 million.
• AvalonBay reported a Q2 EPS of $2.82, exceeding expectations slightly, with revenues of $689.90 million, below the consensus estimate.
• The company recently declared a quarterly dividend of $1.75 per share, reflecting a 3.8% dividend yield and a payout ratio of 86.21%.

Russell Investments Group Ltd. reduced its holdings in AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB - Free Report) by 12.0% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 607,899 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after selling 83,023 shares during the quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. owned approximately 0.43% of AvalonBay Communities worth $130,451,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AVB. Proathlete Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in AvalonBay Communities in the 1st quarter valued at about $29,000. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in AvalonBay Communities in the 1st quarter valued at about $33,000. Ancora Advisors LLC grew its holdings in AvalonBay Communities by 1,666.7% in the 4th quarter. Ancora Advisors LLC now owns 159 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 150 shares during the period. Zions Bancorporation National Association UT purchased a new stake in AvalonBay Communities in the 1st quarter valued at about $50,000. Finally, Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. purchased a new stake in AvalonBay Communities in the 4th quarter valued at about $53,000. 92.61% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at AvalonBay Communities

In other news, CFO Kevin P. O'shea sold 6,000 shares of the company's 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 completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 22,782 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,728,859.74. This represents a 20.85% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction 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 the company's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 17,617 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,623,288.39. This trade represents a 25.23% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.45% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. Evercore ISI lowered their price target on AvalonBay Communities from $216.00 to $212.00 and set an "in-line" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday. Morgan Stanley raised AvalonBay Communities from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and lowered their price target for the company from $228.00 to $225.00 in a research report on Wednesday. UBS Group lowered their price target on AvalonBay Communities from $238.00 to $216.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, July 15th. Barclays lowered their price target on AvalonBay Communities from $241.00 to $228.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on AvalonBay Communities from $251.00 to $249.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, June 17th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $225.64.

AvalonBay Communities Stock Up 0.5%

NYSE AVB traded up $0.87 on Friday, hitting $190.19. 767,538 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 917,636. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $199.66 and a 200 day moving average of $206.42. AvalonBay Communities, Inc. has a twelve month low of $180.40 and a twelve month high of $239.29. The company has a market capitalization of $27.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.86. The company has a current ratio of 0.70, a quick ratio of 0.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71.

AvalonBay Communities (NYSE:AVB - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 30th. The real estate investment trust reported $2.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.80 by $0.02. AvalonBay Communities had a return on equity of 9.70% and a net margin of 38.91%. The firm had revenue of $689.90 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $759.08 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.77 earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that AvalonBay Communities, Inc. will post 11.48 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AvalonBay Communities Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 30th were issued a dividend of $1.75 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 30th. This represents a $7.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.7%. AvalonBay Communities's dividend payout ratio is 86.21%.

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.