AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB) Shares Sold by Rafferty Asset Management LLC

Rafferty Asset Management LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB) by 7.4% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 18,693 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 1,498 shares during the quarter. Rafferty Asset Management LLC’s holdings in AvalonBay Communities were worth $4,112,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its holdings in AvalonBay Communities by 1.4% during the third 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. Avanza Fonder AB acquired a new position in AvalonBay Communities during the fourth quarter worth about $2,419,000. Merit Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in AvalonBay Communities during the fourth quarter worth about $476,000. HB Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in AvalonBay Communities by 18.2% during the fourth quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,426 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $314,000 after acquiring an additional 220 shares during the period. Finally, Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in AvalonBay Communities during the fourth quarter worth about $240,000. 92.61% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AVB has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their target price on AvalonBay Communities from $223.00 to $220.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 8th. Piper Sandler lowered their target price on AvalonBay Communities from $265.00 to $255.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, May 5th. Zelman & Associates raised AvalonBay Communities from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Truist Financial lifted their price target on AvalonBay Communities from $229.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, March 10th. Finally, Scotiabank lifted their price target on AvalonBay Communities from $241.00 to $251.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Monday, May 12th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $239.93.

AvalonBay Communities Trading Up 1.3%

Shares of AVB opened at $208.31 on Monday. AvalonBay Communities, Inc. has a 1-year low of $180.40 and a 1-year high of $239.29. The stock has a market capitalization of $29.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.45, a P/E/G ratio of 3.11 and a beta of 0.86. The company has a current ratio of 1.64, a quick ratio of 1.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $205.73 and its 200 day moving average price is $216.68.

AvalonBay Communities (NYSE:AVB) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The real estate investment trust reported $2.83 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.80 by $0.03. AvalonBay Communities had a return on equity of 9.15% and a net margin of 37.13%. The firm had revenue of $693.43 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $744.61 million. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.70 EPS. Analysts expect that AvalonBay Communities, Inc. will post 11.48 earnings per share for the current year.

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.