Sarasin & Partners LLP Buys 1,917 Shares of AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB)

Sarasin & Partners LLP grew its stake in shares of AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB - Free Report) by 7.2% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 28,438 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after acquiring an additional 1,917 shares during the period. Sarasin & Partners LLP's holdings in AvalonBay Communities were worth $6,406,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Ancora Advisors LLC lifted its position 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 valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 150 shares during the last quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of AvalonBay Communities during the 4th quarter valued at $36,000. Crowley Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of AvalonBay Communities during the 4th quarter valued at $44,000. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of AvalonBay Communities during the 4th quarter valued at $53,000. Finally, Continuum Advisory LLC lifted its position in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 12,200.0% during the 4th quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC now owns 246 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $54,000 after acquiring an additional 244 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.61% of the company's stock.

AvalonBay Communities Stock Performance

AVB stock remained flat at $204.61 during trading on Thursday. The company had a trading volume of 254,469 shares, compared to its average volume of 715,721. AvalonBay Communities, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $180.40 and a fifty-two week high of $239.29. The firm has a market capitalization of $29.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.96, a P/E/G ratio of 3.11 and a beta of 0.86. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $203.72 and its 200 day simple moving average is $214.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 1.64 and a quick ratio of 1.64.

AvalonBay Communities (NYSE:AVB - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The real estate investment trust reported $2.83 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.80 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $693.43 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $744.61 million. AvalonBay Communities had a return on equity of 9.15% and a net margin of 37.13%. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.70 earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that AvalonBay Communities, Inc. will post 11.48 EPS for the current year.

AvalonBay Communities Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 30th will be paid a $1.75 dividend. This represents a $7.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.42%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 30th. AvalonBay Communities's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 87.17%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AVB has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets lowered AvalonBay Communities from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating and set a $220.00 target price for the company. in a report on Friday, April 4th. Zelman & Associates upgraded AvalonBay Communities from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Truist Financial increased their price objective on AvalonBay Communities from $229.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, March 10th. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on AvalonBay Communities from $230.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock an "in-line" rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Mizuho lowered their target price on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $238.00 to $213.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 23rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $237.86.

AvalonBay Communities 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.