Clearbridge Investments LLC Sells 46,838 Shares of AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB)

Clearbridge Investments LLC lessened its holdings in shares of AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB) by 2.6% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 1,786,853 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 46,838 shares during the period. Clearbridge Investments LLC’s holdings in AvalonBay Communities were worth $393,054,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in AVB. Whipplewood Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of AvalonBay Communities in the 4th quarter worth approximately $36,000. Brooklyn Investment Group bought a new stake in AvalonBay Communities during the third quarter valued at about $39,000. Crowley Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new stake in AvalonBay Communities in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $44,000. Generali Asset Management SPA SGR acquired a new position in AvalonBay Communities during the 4th quarter valued at about $66,000. Finally, Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC boosted its stake in AvalonBay Communities by 312.5% in the 4th quarter. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC now owns 363 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $80,000 after purchasing an additional 275 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.61% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have weighed in on AVB. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on AvalonBay Communities from $230.00 to $240.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of AvalonBay Communities from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $247.00 to $262.00 in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. Mizuho upgraded shares of AvalonBay Communities from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $239.00 to $242.00 in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Piper Sandler cut their target price on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $270.00 to $265.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $226.00 to $229.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $238.64.

AvalonBay Communities Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:AVB opened at $213.50 on Friday. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $217.50 and a 200-day simple moving average of $222.45. AvalonBay Communities, Inc. has a 52 week low of $177.40 and a 52 week high of $239.29. The company has a market cap of $30.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.13, a P/E/G ratio of 3.11 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a quick ratio of 1.64, a current ratio of 1.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68.

AvalonBay Communities (NYSE:AVB) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The real estate investment trust reported $2.80 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.83 by ($0.03). AvalonBay Communities had a return on equity of 9.15% and a net margin of 37.13%. Equities research analysts forecast that AvalonBay Communities, Inc. will post 11.48 EPS for the current year.

AvalonBay Communities Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be given a $1.75 dividend. 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 3.28%. AvalonBay Communities’s dividend payout ratio is presently 92.23%.

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.