AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB) Position Cut by Hartford Investment Management Co.

Hartford Investment Management Co. lowered its holdings in shares of AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB) by 1.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 8,756 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 169 shares during the period. Hartford Investment Management Co.’s holdings in AvalonBay Communities were worth $1,926,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AVB. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC bought a new stake in shares of AvalonBay Communities during the third quarter valued at about $26,000. Brooklyn Investment Group acquired a new position in AvalonBay Communities during the 3rd quarter valued at about $39,000. Prospera Private Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of AvalonBay Communities during the 3rd quarter worth about $51,000. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB lifted its stake in shares of 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 worth $105,000 after acquiring an additional 179 shares during the period. Finally, Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new position in shares of AvalonBay Communities in the third quarter valued at approximately $126,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.61% of the company’s stock.

AvalonBay Communities Stock Up 1.0 %

Shares of NYSE:AVB opened at $220.04 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $219.88 and a 200 day simple moving average of $222.44. AvalonBay Communities, Inc. has a 52 week low of $172.16 and a 52 week high of $239.29. 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 cap of $31.30 billion, a PE ratio of 28.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 0.99.

AvalonBay Communities (NYSE:AVB) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The real estate investment trust reported $2.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.83 by ($0.03). AvalonBay Communities had a net margin of 37.13% and a return on equity of 9.15%. As a group, research analysts expect that AvalonBay Communities, Inc. will post 11.53 earnings per share for the current year.

AvalonBay Communities Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be paid a dividend of $1.75 per share. This represents a $7.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.18%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. This is a boost from AvalonBay Communities’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.70. AvalonBay Communities’s payout ratio is 89.59%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently commented on AVB shares. Scotiabank dropped their target price on AvalonBay Communities from $244.00 to $241.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, November 14th. Barclays dropped their price objective on AvalonBay Communities from $243.00 to $230.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Morgan Stanley cut AvalonBay Communities from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and decreased their target price for the company from $236.00 to $223.00 in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Zelman & Associates upgraded shares of AvalonBay Communities from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Piper Sandler cut their price target on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $270.00 to $265.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, AvalonBay Communities currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $235.73.

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.