Principal Financial Group Inc. Sells 55,448 Shares of AvalonBay Communities, Inc. $AVB

Principal Financial Group Inc. cut its stake in shares of AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB) by 1.2% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 4,441,599 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 55,448 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in AvalonBay Communities were worth $725,539,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in AVB. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its stake in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 5.7% in the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 2,723 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $584,000 after acquiring an additional 148 shares during the period. Guggenheim Capital LLC raised its holdings in AvalonBay Communities by 2.8% during the 2nd quarter. Guggenheim Capital LLC now owns 4,759 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $968,000 after purchasing an additional 129 shares during the last quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. bought a new position in AvalonBay Communities during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $1,374,000. Cresset Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 14.2% in the 2nd quarter. Cresset Asset Management LLC now owns 2,890 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $591,000 after purchasing an additional 360 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of Nova Scotia lifted its position in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 9.5% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 18,854 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $3,837,000 after purchasing an additional 1,629 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 92.61% of the company’s stock.

AvalonBay Communities Stock Up 1.5%

AvalonBay Communities stock opened at $194.65 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $27.65 billion, a PE ratio of 28.21, a PEG ratio of 3.34 and a beta of 0.77. AvalonBay Communities, Inc. has a 12-month low of $160.10 and a 12-month high of $205.00. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $186.36 and its 200 day moving average is $178.85. The company has a quick ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 0.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80.

AvalonBay Communities (NYSE:AVB) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The real estate investment trust reported $2.33 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.80 by ($0.47). AvalonBay Communities had a return on equity of 9.56% and a net margin of 37.21%.The company had revenue of $770.28 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $768.80 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $2.83 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that AvalonBay Communities, Inc. will post 11.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AvalonBay Communities Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 30th will be paid a $1.78 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, June 30th. This represents a $7.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.7%. AvalonBay Communities’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 103.19%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on AVB shares. Scotiabank upped their price objective on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $187.00 to $195.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 9th. Cantor Fitzgerald boosted their target price on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $186.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, May 4th. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price target on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $180.00 to $188.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on AvalonBay Communities from $193.00 to $191.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 23rd. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised AvalonBay Communities from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 9th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and fourteen have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, AvalonBay Communities presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $195.67.

AvalonBay Communities Profile

AvalonBay Communities, Inc (NYSE: AVB) is a publicly traded real estate investment trust (REIT) that owns, develops, redevelops and manages multifamily residential properties. The company focuses on professionally managed apartment communities, offering a range of rental housing options and related resident services. As a REIT, AvalonBay’s core activities center on the acquisition and development of apartment assets and the ongoing operations and leasing of those communities.

AvalonBay’s operating activities include ground-up development, strategic redevelopment of existing properties, property and asset management, and on-site leasing and resident services.