Intact Investment Management Inc. Sells 2,600 Shares of AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB)

Intact Investment Management Inc. lessened its holdings in AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB) by 8.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 28,500 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 2,600 shares during the quarter. Intact Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in AvalonBay Communities were worth $6,269,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of AVB. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its stake in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 678.9% in the 3rd 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 purchasing an additional 1,494,872 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its stake in AvalonBay Communities by 2.2% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 9,245,028 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $2,097,971,000 after acquiring an additional 196,938 shares during the last quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. boosted its stake in AvalonBay Communities by 51.7% during the 4th quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 554,290 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $121,927,000 after acquiring an additional 188,906 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in AvalonBay Communities during the 4th quarter worth approximately $35,153,000. Finally, KBC Group NV boosted its stake in 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 last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.61% of the company’s stock.

AvalonBay Communities Stock Performance

Shares of AVB stock opened at $207.45 on Friday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $218.22 and its 200-day simple moving average is $223.45. The company has a quick ratio of 1.64, a current ratio of 1.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68. The firm has a market cap of $29.51 billion, a PE ratio of 27.33, a P/E/G ratio of 3.11 and a beta of 1.00. AvalonBay Communities, Inc. has a 12 month low of $177.40 and a 12 month 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 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 expect that AvalonBay Communities, Inc. will post 11.48 EPS for the current fiscal 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 given a $1.75 dividend. This represents a $7.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.37%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. This is a positive change from AvalonBay Communities’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.70. AvalonBay Communities’s payout ratio is currently 92.23%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AVB has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of AvalonBay Communities from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $247.00 to $262.00 in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. Morgan Stanley lowered shares of AvalonBay Communities from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $236.00 to $223.00 in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $230.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Mizuho raised shares of AvalonBay Communities from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $239.00 to $242.00 in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Barclays reduced their price target on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $230.00 to $226.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, AvalonBay Communities presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $238.64.

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.