Conning Inc. Sells 170 Shares of AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB)

Conning Inc. cut its position in shares of AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB) by 15.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 922 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 170 shares during the period. Conning Inc.’s holdings in AvalonBay Communities were worth $203,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC bought a new stake in AvalonBay Communities during the 3rd quarter valued at about $26,000. Brooklyn Investment Group bought a new position in AvalonBay Communities in the third quarter worth approximately $39,000. Mather Group LLC. increased its holdings in AvalonBay Communities by 38.6% during the 3rd quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 201 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $45,000 after purchasing an additional 56 shares during the period. Prospera Private Wealth LLC bought a new stake in AvalonBay Communities during the 3rd quarter valued at $51,000. Finally, MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB lifted its holdings in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 59.9% in the 4th quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 478 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $105,000 after buying an additional 179 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.61% of the company’s stock.

AvalonBay Communities Price Performance

NYSE AVB opened at $220.23 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $31.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.02, a PEG ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 0.99. 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’s fifty day moving average price is $220.50 and its 200 day moving average price is $222.15. AvalonBay Communities, Inc. has a 1 year low of $169.37 and a 1 year high of $239.29.

AvalonBay Communities (NYSE:AVB) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The real estate investment trust reported $2.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.83 by ($0.03). AvalonBay Communities had a return on equity of 9.15% and a net margin of 37.13%. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that AvalonBay Communities, Inc. will post 11.53 earnings per share for the current year.

AvalonBay Communities Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be issued a $1.75 dividend. This is an increase from AvalonBay Communities’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.70. This represents a $7.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.18%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. AvalonBay Communities’s dividend payout ratio is 89.59%.

Insider Transactions at AvalonBay Communities

In other news, Director Timothy J. Naughton sold 23,697 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 $20,367,689.33. This represents a 21.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.42% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Barclays dropped their price objective on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $243.00 to $230.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Scotiabank dropped their price objective on AvalonBay Communities from $244.00 to $241.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, November 14th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $226.00 to $229.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday. Mizuho raised shares of AvalonBay Communities from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price target for the company from $239.00 to $242.00 in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Morgan Stanley downgraded shares of AvalonBay Communities from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and cut their price objective for the stock from $236.00 to $223.00 in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $234.33.

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.