Janus Henderson Group PLC Sells 32,007 Shares of AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB)

Janus Henderson Group PLC decreased its stake in shares of AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB - Free Report) by 7.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 384,454 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after selling 32,007 shares during the period. Janus Henderson Group PLC owned 0.27% of AvalonBay Communities worth $84,608,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Wedmont Private Capital lifted its position in AvalonBay Communities by 5.3% during the 4th quarter. Wedmont Private Capital now owns 1,094 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $231,000 after acquiring an additional 55 shares during the period. Signaturefd LLC increased its stake in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 4.0% during the fourth quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 1,616 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $356,000 after purchasing an additional 62 shares in the last quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 2.6% during the fourth quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 2,512 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $553,000 after purchasing an additional 63 shares during the last quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund boosted its position in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 12,179 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $2,679,000 after purchasing an additional 69 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Greenleaf Trust grew its stake in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 2.4% in the 4th quarter. Greenleaf Trust now owns 3,028 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $666,000 after buying an additional 70 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.61% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have issued reports on AVB. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price objective on AvalonBay Communities from $223.00 to $220.00 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 8th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on AvalonBay Communities from $226.00 to $228.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $227.00 to $240.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, May 9th. Zelman & Associates raised shares of AvalonBay Communities from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Scotiabank upped their target price on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $241.00 to $251.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Monday. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $239.93.

AvalonBay Communities Stock Performance

AvalonBay Communities stock traded up $2.73 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $208.31. 806,835 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 703,696. AvalonBay Communities, Inc. has a 12-month low of $180.40 and a 12-month high of $239.29. The business's 50-day moving average is $205.83 and its 200-day moving average is $216.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 1.64 and a quick ratio of 1.64. The stock has a market capitalization of $29.66 billion, a PE ratio of 27.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.11 and a beta of 0.86.

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

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.