Nisa Investment Advisors LLC Sells 5,302 Shares of AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB)

Nisa Investment Advisors LLC trimmed its stake in shares of AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB) by 7.1% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 69,754 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 5,302 shares during the period. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in AvalonBay Communities were worth $15,470,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of AVB. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. lifted its position in AvalonBay Communities by 16.5% during the 2nd quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. now owns 2,371 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $491,000 after buying an additional 336 shares in the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. increased its stake in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 4.9% in the 2nd quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 10,092 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $2,088,000 after buying an additional 468 shares during the period. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc raised its position in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 109.7% during the second quarter. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc now owns 32,987 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $6,825,000 after acquiring an additional 17,257 shares during the last quarter. Profund Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 2.9% during the second quarter. Profund Advisors LLC now owns 2,202 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $456,000 after acquiring an additional 63 shares during the period. Finally, ProShare Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in AvalonBay Communities by 4.3% in the second quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 32,312 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $6,685,000 after acquiring an additional 1,328 shares during the last quarter. 92.61% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

AvalonBay Communities Price Performance

NYSE AVB opened at $214.40 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a quick ratio of 1.64 and a current ratio of 1.64. The stock has a market cap of $30.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.33, a PEG ratio of 3.04 and a beta of 0.99. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $223.97 and a 200 day simple moving average of $221.04. AvalonBay Communities, Inc. has a 52-week low of $169.37 and a 52-week high of $239.29.

AvalonBay Communities (NYSE:AVB) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 4th. The real estate investment trust reported $2.61 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.71 by ($0.10). The company had revenue of $734.31 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $731.67 million. AvalonBay Communities had a return on equity of 8.84% and a net margin of 36.20%. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.66 EPS. Analysts anticipate that AvalonBay Communities, Inc. will post 11.04 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AvalonBay Communities Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st were issued a $1.70 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, December 31st. This represents a $6.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.17%. AvalonBay Communities’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 93.02%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have issued reports on AVB shares. Royal Bank of Canada cut their target price on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $234.00 to $233.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Scotiabank reduced their price objective on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $244.00 to $241.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, November 14th. Mizuho upgraded shares of AvalonBay Communities from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their target price for the company from $239.00 to $242.00 in a research report on Monday, January 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded AvalonBay Communities from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $247.00 to $262.00 in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. Finally, Barclays assumed coverage on AvalonBay Communities in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $243.00 price objective for the company. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, AvalonBay Communities currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $234.53.

Insider Transactions at AvalonBay Communities

In other AvalonBay Communities news, Director Timothy J. Naughton sold 23,697 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $233.47, for a total value of $5,532,538.59. Following the sale, the director now owns 87,239 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,367,689.33. The trade was a 21.36 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 0.48% of the stock is owned by insiders.

AvalonBay Communities Company 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.