AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB) Shares Sold by Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc.

Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. lowered its position in shares of AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB) by 2.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 246,318 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 5,013 shares during the period. AvalonBay Communities makes up approximately 1.0% of Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 28th largest position. Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in AvalonBay Communities were worth $54,183,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Mather Group LLC. grew its position in AvalonBay Communities by 38.6% in the third quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 201 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $45,000 after acquiring an additional 56 shares during the period. Atomi Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 16.9% during the 3rd quarter. Atomi Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,205 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $271,000 after purchasing an additional 174 shares during the period. CWM LLC increased its position in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 4.8% during the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,639 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $369,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares during the last quarter. Wedmont Private Capital purchased a new stake in AvalonBay Communities in the 3rd quarter valued at about $227,000. Finally, Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt lifted its position in AvalonBay Communities by 515.0% in the third quarter. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt now owns 2,866 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $649,000 after buying an additional 2,400 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.61% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Timothy J. Naughton sold 23,697 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 87,239 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $20,367,689.33. This trade represents a 21.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.42% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Morgan Stanley cut shares of AvalonBay Communities from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and dropped their price target for the company from $236.00 to $223.00 in a research report on Friday, January 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised AvalonBay Communities from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $247.00 to $262.00 in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on AvalonBay Communities from $226.00 to $229.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Friday. Scotiabank dropped their price objective on AvalonBay Communities from $244.00 to $241.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, November 14th. Finally, Barclays cut their price objective on AvalonBay Communities from $243.00 to $230.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 24th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, AvalonBay Communities presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $234.33.

AvalonBay Communities Price Performance

Shares of NYSE AVB opened at $220.23 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $31.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.02, a P/E/G ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 0.99. AvalonBay Communities, Inc. has a twelve month low of $169.37 and a twelve month high of $239.29. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $220.50 and a two-hundred day moving average of $222.15. The company has a current ratio of 1.64, a quick ratio of 1.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68.

AvalonBay Communities (NYSE:AVB) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The real estate investment trust reported $2.80 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%. On average, research analysts forecast 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. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be paid a dividend of $1.75 per share. This is an increase from AvalonBay Communities’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.70. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $7.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.18%. AvalonBay Communities’s dividend payout ratio is 89.59%.

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.