AvalonBay Communities, Inc. $AVB Position Lessened by Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd

Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd decreased its position in shares of AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB) by 38.2% in the first quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 5,540 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 3,428 shares during the period. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd’s holdings in AvalonBay Communities were worth $905,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Pensionfund PDN bought a new stake in shares of AvalonBay Communities in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $3,648,000. Nordea Investment Management AB raised its position in AvalonBay Communities by 4.1% during the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 444,222 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $80,449,000 after acquiring an additional 17,352 shares in the last quarter. Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH bought a new position in AvalonBay Communities during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,237,000. CIBC Bancorp USA Inc. acquired a new stake in AvalonBay Communities in the third quarter valued at approximately $11,058,000. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its stake in AvalonBay Communities by 9.3% in the fourth quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 4,497,047 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $815,360,000 after acquiring an additional 383,983 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.61% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have commented on AVB shares. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of AvalonBay Communities to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, June 26th. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price objective on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $180.00 to $188.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. Cantor Fitzgerald upped their price objective on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $186.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, May 4th. Scotiabank upped their price objective on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $187.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of AvalonBay Communities from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 9th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and fourteen have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $195.67.

AvalonBay Communities Price Performance

NYSE AVB opened at $191.88 on Monday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $186.13 and a 200 day simple moving average of $178.76. AvalonBay Communities, Inc. has a twelve month low of $160.10 and a twelve month high of $205.00. The stock has a market capitalization of $26.69 billion, a PE ratio of 27.81, a P/E/G ratio of 3.34 and a beta of 0.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a current ratio of 0.62.

AvalonBay Communities (NYSE:AVB) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The real estate investment trust reported $2.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.80 by ($0.47). The business had revenue of $770.28 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $768.80 million. AvalonBay Communities had a net margin of 37.21% and a return on equity of 9.56%. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.83 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that AvalonBay Communities, Inc. will post 11.28 EPS for the current year.

AvalonBay Communities Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 30th will be given a $1.78 dividend. This represents a $7.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, June 30th. AvalonBay Communities’s dividend payout ratio is currently 103.19%.

AvalonBay Communities Profile

AvalonBay Communities, Inc (NYSE: AVB) is a publicly traded real estate investment trust (REIT) that owns, develops, redevelops and manages multifamily residential properties. The company focuses on professionally managed apartment communities, offering a range of rental housing options and related resident services. As a REIT, AvalonBay’s core activities center on the acquisition and development of apartment assets and the ongoing operations and leasing of those communities.

AvalonBay’s operating activities include ground-up development, strategic redevelopment of existing properties, property and asset management, and on-site leasing and resident services.