Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board Sells 3,823 Shares of AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB)

Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board lowered its stake in AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB) by 66.6% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 1,915 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 3,823 shares during the quarter. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board’s holdings in AvalonBay Communities were worth $421,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Whipplewood Advisors LLC bought a new stake in AvalonBay Communities in the fourth quarter valued at $36,000. Crowley Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of AvalonBay Communities in the 4th quarter valued at about $44,000. Generali Asset Management SPA SGR bought a new stake in AvalonBay Communities in the 4th quarter valued at about $66,000. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC raised its stake in AvalonBay Communities by 312.5% during the 4th quarter. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC now owns 363 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $80,000 after buying an additional 275 shares during the period. Finally, Loomis Sayles & Co. L P boosted its holdings in AvalonBay Communities by 42.6% in the fourth quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P now owns 442 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $97,000 after acquiring an additional 132 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.61% of the company’s stock.

AvalonBay Communities Trading Up 1.4 %

Shares of AvalonBay Communities stock opened at $202.93 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $28.89 billion, a PE ratio of 26.74, a P/E/G ratio of 3.11 and a beta of 0.86. AvalonBay Communities, Inc. has a 1 year low of $180.17 and a 1 year high of $239.29. 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 fifty day moving average price of $211.40 and a 200-day moving average price of $219.22.

AvalonBay Communities (NYSE:AVB) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The real estate investment trust reported $2.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.83 by ($0.03). AvalonBay Communities had a return on equity of 9.15% and a net margin of 37.13%. Equities research analysts anticipate that AvalonBay Communities, Inc. will post 11.48 EPS for the current year.

AvalonBay Communities Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st were paid a $1.75 dividend. This is an increase from AvalonBay Communities’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.70. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 31st. This represents a $7.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.45%. AvalonBay Communities’s dividend payout ratio is presently 92.23%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on AVB. Barclays upped their target price on AvalonBay Communities from $226.00 to $227.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Piper Sandler dropped their price objective on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $270.00 to $265.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Zelman & Associates raised shares of AvalonBay Communities from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Morgan Stanley cut shares of AvalonBay Communities from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and dropped their price target for the company from $236.00 to $223.00 in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on AvalonBay Communities from $230.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $237.47.

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.