Sophron Capital Management L.P. Invests $11.75 Million in AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB)

Sophron Capital Management L.P. bought a new stake in AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 53,433 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock, valued at approximately $11,754,000. AvalonBay Communities accounts for about 4.6% of Sophron Capital Management L.P.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 7th biggest holding.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Two Sigma Investments LP raised its holdings in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 12.0% in the 4th quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 6,512 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $1,432,000 after purchasing an additional 697 shares during the period. Tidal Investments LLC raised its holdings in AvalonBay Communities by 13.1% in the 4th quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 86,692 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $19,070,000 after acquiring an additional 10,040 shares during the period. State of Wyoming raised its holdings in AvalonBay Communities by 433.8% in the 4th quarter. State of Wyoming now owns 2,119 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $466,000 after acquiring an additional 1,722 shares during the period. Toronto Dominion Bank raised its holdings in AvalonBay Communities by 7.6% in the 4th quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 75,999 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $16,718,000 after acquiring an additional 5,349 shares during the period. Finally, Siemens Fonds Invest GmbH raised its holdings in AvalonBay Communities by 153.7% in the 4th quarter. Siemens Fonds Invest GmbH now owns 6,294 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $1,384,000 after acquiring an additional 3,813 shares during the period. 92.61% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have weighed in on AVB. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $226.00 to $228.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, May 15th. Truist Financial increased their target price on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $229.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, March 10th. Piper Sandler decreased their target price on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $265.00 to $255.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, May 5th. Royal Bank of Canada decreased 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. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lowered shares of AvalonBay Communities from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating and set a $220.00 target price on the stock. in a research report on Friday, April 4th. 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, AvalonBay Communities currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $239.93.

AvalonBay Communities Price Performance

AvalonBay Communities stock traded down $1.99 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $199.75. The company had a trading volume of 902,767 shares, compared to its average volume of 708,236. AvalonBay Communities, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $180.40 and a fifty-two week 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. The company has a market cap of $28.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.32, a P/E/G ratio of 3.11 and a beta of 0.86. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $205.57 and a 200 day simple moving average of $216.47.

AvalonBay Communities (NYSE:AVB - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results 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. AvalonBay Communities had a net margin of 37.13% and a return on equity of 9.15%. The firm had revenue of $693.43 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $744.61 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.70 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that AvalonBay Communities, Inc. will post 11.48 earnings per share for the current year.

AvalonBay Communities Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 30th will be issued a dividend of $1.75 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 30th. This represents a $7.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.50%. AvalonBay Communities's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.