Sarasin & Partners LLP Sells 1,917 Shares of AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB)

Sarasin & Partners LLP trimmed its holdings in shares of AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB) by 6.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 26,521 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 1,917 shares during the period. Sarasin & Partners LLP’s holdings in AvalonBay Communities were worth $5,834,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its holdings in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 1.4% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 4,060,497 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $914,627,000 after acquiring an additional 55,588 shares during the period. American Assets Capital Advisers LLC bought a new position in shares of AvalonBay Communities during the 3rd quarter worth about $1,014,000. 1832 Asset Management L.P. lifted its holdings in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 5.6% during the 2nd quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. now owns 63,174 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $13,070,000 after acquiring an additional 3,350 shares during the period. West Oak Capital LLC lifted its holdings in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 875.3% during the 4th quarter. West Oak Capital LLC now owns 15,800 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $356,000 after acquiring an additional 14,180 shares during the period. Finally, KBC Group NV lifted its holdings in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 284.8% during the 3rd quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 146,429 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $32,983,000 after acquiring an additional 108,371 shares during the period. 92.61% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

AvalonBay Communities Stock Up 0.1 %

Shares of NYSE:AVB opened at $218.21 on Monday. AvalonBay Communities, Inc. has a one year low of $169.37 and a one year high of $239.29. The company has a 50 day moving average of $224.47 and a 200-day moving average of $220.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a current ratio of 1.64 and a quick ratio of 1.64. The stock has a market cap of $31.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.85, a P/E/G ratio of 2.94 and a beta of 0.99.

AvalonBay Communities (NYSE:AVB) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The real estate investment trust reported $2.61 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.71 by ($0.10). AvalonBay Communities had a return on equity of 8.84% and a net margin of 36.20%. The business had revenue of $734.31 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $731.67 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.66 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that AvalonBay Communities, Inc. will post 11.04 earnings per share for the current year.

AvalonBay Communities Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 31st were issued a dividend of $1.70 per share. This represents a $6.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.12%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, December 31st. AvalonBay Communities’s dividend payout ratio is currently 93.02%.

Insider Activity at AvalonBay Communities

In related news, Director Timothy J. Naughton sold 23,697 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $233.47, for a total transaction of $5,532,538.59. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.48% of the company’s stock.

About AvalonBay Communities

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.