AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB) Shares Sold by Allstate Corp

Allstate Corp decreased its holdings in AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB) by 53.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 10,210 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 11,501 shares during the period. Allstate Corp’s holdings in AvalonBay Communities were worth $2,246,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. DnB Asset Management AS grew its stake in AvalonBay Communities by 1.3% during the 4th quarter. DnB Asset Management AS now owns 27,385 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $6,024,000 after purchasing an additional 351 shares in the last quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 4.0% in the 4th quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 230,701 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $50,747,000 after buying an additional 8,796 shares during the period. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 53,908.6% during the fourth quarter. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC now owns 37,806 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $8,316,000 after buying an additional 37,736 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of AvalonBay Communities during the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,499,050,000. Finally, Blair William & Co. IL raised its holdings in AvalonBay Communities by 4.5% in the fourth quarter. Blair William & Co. IL now owns 9,161 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $2,015,000 after acquiring an additional 393 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.61% of the company’s stock.

AvalonBay Communities Trading Up 0.2 %

Shares of AvalonBay Communities stock opened at $213.50 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 1.64 and a current ratio of 1.64. The company has a market capitalization of $30.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.13, a PEG ratio of 3.11 and a beta of 1.00. AvalonBay Communities, Inc. has a 1 year low of $177.40 and a 1 year high of $239.29. The company’s fifty day moving average is $217.50 and its two-hundred day moving average is $222.45.

AvalonBay Communities (NYSE:AVB) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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 net margin of 37.13% and a return on equity of 9.15%. Analysts forecast that AvalonBay Communities, Inc. will post 11.48 earnings per share for the current year.

AvalonBay Communities Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st will be issued a dividend of $1.75 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. 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 3.28%. AvalonBay Communities’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 92.23%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the stock. Truist Financial increased their price objective on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $229.00 to $230.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, March 10th. Morgan Stanley lowered AvalonBay Communities from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and dropped their target price for the company from $236.00 to $223.00 in a report on Friday, January 24th. Mizuho raised AvalonBay Communities from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $239.00 to $242.00 in a report on Monday, January 6th. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on AvalonBay Communities from $230.00 to $240.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Piper Sandler decreased their target price on AvalonBay Communities from $270.00 to $265.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, AvalonBay Communities currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $238.64.

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.