West Coast Financial LLC Sells 84 Shares of AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB)

West Coast Financial LLC decreased its holdings in shares of AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB) by 5.9% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 1,331 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 84 shares during the period. West Coast Financial LLC’s holdings in AvalonBay Communities were worth $293,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the business. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its holdings in AvalonBay Communities by 678.9% during the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 1,715,050 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $386,315,000 after buying an additional 1,494,872 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in AvalonBay Communities during the 3rd quarter valued at $581,960,000. State Street Corp increased its holdings in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 2.2% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 9,245,028 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $2,097,971,000 after acquiring an additional 196,938 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC raised its position in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 958.9% in the 3rd quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 172,618 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $38,882,000 after acquiring an additional 156,316 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Artemis Investment Management LLP bought a new stake in AvalonBay Communities during the third quarter valued at about $29,256,000. Institutional investors own 92.61% of the company’s stock.

AvalonBay Communities Trading Down 0.6 %

AVB opened at $215.70 on Thursday. 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 company’s 50 day simple moving average is $225.15 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $220.50. The firm has a market capitalization of $30.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.94 and a beta of 0.99. AvalonBay Communities, Inc. has a 1-year low of $169.37 and a 1-year high of $239.29.

AvalonBay Communities (NYSE:AVB) last issued its earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The real estate investment trust reported $2.61 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.71 by ($0.10). The company had revenue of $734.31 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 last year, the business earned $2.66 earnings per share. Analysts expect that AvalonBay Communities, Inc. will post 11.04 EPS 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 paid a $1.70 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, December 31st. This represents a $6.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.15%. AvalonBay Communities’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 93.02%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. Mizuho upgraded shares of AvalonBay Communities from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $239.00 to $242.00 in a report on Monday, January 6th. Scotiabank decreased their target price on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $244.00 to $241.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, November 14th. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their target price on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $234.00 to $233.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Barclays began coverage on AvalonBay Communities in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $243.00 price target on the stock. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised AvalonBay Communities from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $247.00 to $262.00 in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $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 is available through this link. Insiders own 0.48% of the company’s stock.

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.