Vanderbilt University Reduces Stake in AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB)

Vanderbilt University lowered its stake in AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB - Free Report) by 19.2% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 8,202 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after selling 1,948 shares during the period. Vanderbilt University's holdings in AvalonBay Communities were worth $1,760,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AVB. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of AvalonBay Communities during the first quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Ancora Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 1,666.7% during the fourth 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. Whipplewood Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of AvalonBay Communities during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Crowley Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of AvalonBay Communities during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $44,000. Finally, Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of AvalonBay Communities during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $53,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.61% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have issued reports on AVB. Barclays boosted their target price on AvalonBay Communities from $227.00 to $240.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, May 9th. Wall Street Zen lowered AvalonBay Communities from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Saturday, May 31st. Piper Sandler dropped their target price on AvalonBay Communities from $265.00 to $255.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, May 5th. Truist Financial boosted their price target on AvalonBay Communities from $229.00 to $230.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, March 10th. Finally, Scotiabank lowered their price target on AvalonBay Communities from $251.00 to $236.00 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a report on Friday, June 13th. One equities research 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, AvalonBay Communities presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $235.86.

AvalonBay Communities Stock Up 0.1%

AvalonBay Communities stock opened at $206.41 on Friday. The business has a fifty day moving average of $205.08 and a two-hundred day moving average of $212.69. The company has a quick ratio of 0.51, a current ratio of 0.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70. The firm has a market cap of $29.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.71, a P/E/G ratio of 2.81 and a beta of 0.86. AvalonBay Communities, Inc. has a twelve month low of $180.40 and a twelve month high of $239.29.

AvalonBay Communities (NYSE:AVB - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The real estate investment trust reported $2.83 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.80 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $693.43 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $744.61 million. AvalonBay Communities had a return on equity of 9.65% and a net margin of 38.86%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.70 earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast 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 will be paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 30th will be issued a dividend of $1.75 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 30th. This represents a $7.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.39%. AvalonBay Communities's dividend payout ratio is currently 87.17%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Kevin P. O'shea sold 6,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Edward M. Schulman sold 5,945 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, June 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $205.67, for a total value of $1,222,708.15. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 17,617 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,623,288.39. The trade was 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 owned by company 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.

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