AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB) Shares Sold by Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc.

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. cut its stake in AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB - Free Report) by 1.1% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 712,473 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after selling 8,234 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. owned approximately 0.50% of AvalonBay Communities worth $152,911,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Proathlete Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in AvalonBay Communities during the first quarter worth approximately $29,000. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of AvalonBay Communities in the 1st quarter worth $33,000. Ancora Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in AvalonBay Communities by 1,666.7% in the fourth 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 purchased a new stake in AvalonBay Communities during the fourth quarter valued at about $36,000. Finally, Crowley Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new stake in AvalonBay Communities during the fourth quarter worth about $44,000. 92.61% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at AvalonBay Communities

In other news, EVP Edward M. Schulman sold 5,945 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, June 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $205.67, for a total transaction of $1,222,708.15. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Kevin P. O'shea sold 6,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.48% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

AvalonBay Communities Stock Down 0.6%

AvalonBay Communities stock traded down $1.31 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $201.97. The stock had a trading volume of 866,165 shares, compared to its average volume of 814,526. The company has a current ratio of 0.51, a quick ratio of 0.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $205.67 and a 200 day moving average price of $211.37. AvalonBay Communities, Inc. has a 12 month low of $180.40 and a 12 month high of $239.29. The stock has a market cap of $28.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.15, a P/E/G ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 0.85.

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 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.80 by $0.03. AvalonBay Communities had a net margin of 38.86% and a return on equity of 9.65%. The firm had revenue of $693.43 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $744.61 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.70 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that AvalonBay Communities, Inc. will post 11.48 EPS for the current year.

AvalonBay Communities Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 30th will be paid a $1.75 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 30th. This represents a $7.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.47%. AvalonBay Communities's payout ratio is currently 87.17%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Royal Bank Of Canada reduced their price objective on AvalonBay Communities from $223.00 to $220.00 and set a "sector perform" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 8th. BMO Capital Markets cut shares of AvalonBay Communities from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating and set a $220.00 price target on the stock. in a research report on Friday, April 4th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of AvalonBay Communities from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Sunday. Scotiabank reduced their target price on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $251.00 to $236.00 and set a "sector perform" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, June 13th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price target 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. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $235.86.

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.