Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH Has $68.89 Million Stock Position in AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB)

Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH trimmed its position in AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB - Free Report) by 10.4% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 320,981 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after selling 37,061 shares during the quarter. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH owned approximately 0.23% of AvalonBay Communities worth $68,889,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Proathlete Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in AvalonBay Communities during the 1st quarter worth $29,000. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of AvalonBay Communities in the first quarter valued at about $33,000. Ancora Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of 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 in the last quarter. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of AvalonBay Communities in the fourth quarter valued at about $53,000. Finally, Continuum Advisory LLC boosted its holdings in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 12,200.0% in the fourth 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 in the last quarter. 92.61% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently commented on AVB. Piper Sandler decreased their price objective on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $265.00 to $255.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, May 5th. BMO Capital Markets downgraded 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 report on Friday, April 4th. Royal Bank Of Canada reduced their price target on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $223.00 to $220.00 and set a "sector perform" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 8th. UBS Group cut their price objective on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $238.00 to $216.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, July 15th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered shares of AvalonBay Communities from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Sunday, June 29th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued 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 an average price target of $235.07.

AvalonBay Communities Stock Up 0.2%

Shares of AVB stock traded up $0.35 on Friday, hitting $201.94. The stock had a trading volume of 154,287 shares, compared to its average volume of 791,425. The firm has a market capitalization of $28.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.14, a P/E/G ratio of 2.73 and a beta of 0.85. The stock's 50 day moving average is $204.00 and its 200-day moving average is $209.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a quick ratio of 0.51 and a current ratio of 0.51. AvalonBay Communities, Inc. has a 52-week low of $180.40 and a 52-week high of $239.29.

AvalonBay Communities (NYSE:AVB - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The real estate investment trust reported $2.83 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $744.61 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.70 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that AvalonBay Communities, Inc. will post 11.48 earnings per share for the current year.

AvalonBay Communities Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Shareholders 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.47%. AvalonBay Communities's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 87.17%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Edward M. Schulman sold 5,945 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the executive vice president owned 17,617 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,623,288.39. This trade represents a 25.23% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Kevin P. O'shea sold 6,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $207.57, for a total transaction of $1,245,420.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 22,782 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,728,859.74. The trade was a 20.85% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.45% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.