Advocate Group LLC Sells 462 Shares of AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB)

Advocate Group LLC lowered its stake in shares of AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB) by 2.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 21,999 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 462 shares during the quarter. Advocate Group LLC’s holdings in AvalonBay Communities were worth $4,839,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of AVB. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC bought a new stake in AvalonBay Communities during the third quarter worth $26,000. Brooklyn Investment Group bought a new stake in AvalonBay Communities during the third quarter worth $39,000. Mather Group LLC. grew its holdings in AvalonBay Communities by 38.6% during the third quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 201 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $45,000 after buying an additional 56 shares in the last quarter. Prospera Private Wealth LLC bought a new stake in AvalonBay Communities during the third quarter worth $51,000. Finally, MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB grew its stake in AvalonBay Communities by 59.9% in the 4th quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 478 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $105,000 after purchasing an additional 179 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 92.61% of the company’s stock.

AvalonBay Communities Stock Performance

Shares of AVB opened at $214.48 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $223.01 and its 200 day simple moving average is $221.02. AvalonBay Communities, Inc. has a 52-week low of $169.37 and a 52-week high of $239.29. The stock has a market capitalization of $30.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 0.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a quick ratio of 1.64 and a current ratio of 1.64.

AvalonBay Communities (NYSE:AVB) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The real estate investment trust reported $2.61 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.71 by ($0.10). AvalonBay Communities had a net margin of 36.20% and a return on equity of 8.84%. The business had revenue of $734.31 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $731.67 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.66 EPS. Research analysts forecast that AvalonBay Communities, Inc. will post 11.04 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AvalonBay Communities Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st were issued a $1.70 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, December 31st. This represents a $6.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.17%. AvalonBay Communities’s payout ratio is currently 93.02%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have issued reports on AVB. Mizuho upgraded AvalonBay Communities from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $239.00 to $242.00 in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Morgan Stanley downgraded AvalonBay Communities from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $236.00 to $223.00 in a research note on Friday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised AvalonBay Communities from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price target for the company from $247.00 to $262.00 in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. Barclays dropped their price target on AvalonBay Communities from $243.00 to $230.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price target on AvalonBay Communities from $234.00 to $233.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, AvalonBay Communities has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $234.60.

Insider Buying and Selling at AvalonBay Communities

In other news, Director Timothy J. Naughton sold 23,697 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $233.47, for a total transaction of $5,532,538.59. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 87,239 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,367,689.33. This represents a 21.36 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 0.42% of the company’s stock.

AvalonBay Communities Company 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.