Martingale Asset Management L P Sells 22,891 Shares of AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB)

Martingale Asset Management L P cut its position in shares of AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB) by 68.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 10,659 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 22,891 shares during the quarter. Martingale Asset Management L P’s holdings in AvalonBay Communities were worth $2,345,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC grew its stake in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 14.8% during the 3rd quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC now owns 8,230 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $1,854,000 after acquiring an additional 1,060 shares in the last quarter. MML Investors Services LLC grew its position in AvalonBay Communities by 19.4% in the third quarter. MML Investors Services LLC now owns 3,005 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $677,000 after purchasing an additional 489 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in AvalonBay Communities by 0.8% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,585,802 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $805,113,000 after buying an additional 27,988 shares during the last quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank increased its stake in AvalonBay Communities by 1.4% in the 3rd quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 70,650 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $15,914,000 after buying an additional 964 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Unigestion Holding SA bought a new stake in AvalonBay Communities during the 3rd quarter worth about $578,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.61% of the company’s stock.

AvalonBay Communities Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE AVB opened at $193.52 on Friday. 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 firm has a market cap of $27.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.50, a P/E/G ratio of 3.11 and a beta of 0.86. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $213.58 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $220.11. AvalonBay Communities, Inc. has a one year low of $177.40 and a one year high of $239.29.

AvalonBay Communities (NYSE:AVB) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The real estate investment trust reported $2.80 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.83 by ($0.03). AvalonBay Communities had a net margin of 37.13% and a return on equity of 9.15%. On average, equities analysts forecast that AvalonBay Communities, Inc. will post 11.48 EPS for the current year.

AvalonBay Communities Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared 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 3.62%. This is an increase from AvalonBay Communities’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.70. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. AvalonBay Communities’s payout ratio is presently 92.23%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AVB has been the subject of several analyst reports. Piper Sandler decreased their price objective on AvalonBay Communities from $270.00 to $265.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Morgan Stanley downgraded AvalonBay Communities from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and decreased their price target for the company from $236.00 to $223.00 in a research note on Friday, January 24th. BMO Capital Markets cut AvalonBay Communities from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and set a $220.00 price objective on the stock. in a research note on Friday, April 4th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $226.00 to $229.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Finally, 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. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, AvalonBay Communities currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $237.40.

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.