Lincluden Management Ltd. Sells 671 Shares of AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB)

Lincluden Management Ltd. cut its holdings in AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB) by 5.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 12,470 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 671 shares during the quarter. Lincluden Management Ltd.’s holdings in AvalonBay Communities were worth $2,743,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of AVB. Creative Planning boosted its holdings in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 4.7% in the third quarter. Creative Planning now owns 9,004 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $2,028,000 after buying an additional 408 shares during the period. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lifted its position in AvalonBay Communities by 3.5% in the 3rd quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 7,776 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $1,752,000 after acquiring an additional 263 shares in the last quarter. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new position in AvalonBay Communities in the 3rd quarter worth $210,000. Private Advisor Group LLC increased its holdings in AvalonBay Communities by 15.3% during the 3rd quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 2,449 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $552,000 after purchasing an additional 325 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ballentine Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 9.5% in the 3rd quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 2,586 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $582,000 after purchasing an additional 224 shares during the period. 92.61% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on AVB shares. Morgan Stanley cut AvalonBay Communities from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $236.00 to $223.00 in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Mizuho raised AvalonBay Communities from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $239.00 to $242.00 in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Barclays lowered their price objective on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $230.00 to $226.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $226.00 to $229.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of AvalonBay Communities from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $247.00 to $262.00 in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $238.64.

AvalonBay Communities Stock Performance

Shares of AVB opened at $221.12 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 1.64 and a quick ratio of 1.64. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $218.63 and a 200-day moving average of $223.15. The company has a market cap of $31.45 billion, a PE ratio of 29.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.11 and a beta of 1.00. AvalonBay Communities, Inc. has a one year low of $172.85 and a one year high of $239.29.

AvalonBay Communities (NYSE:AVB) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The real estate investment trust reported $2.80 EPS 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%. As a group, equities analysts forecast that AvalonBay Communities, Inc. will post 11.48 earnings per share for the current year.

AvalonBay Communities Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st will be paid a $1.75 dividend. This represents a $7.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.17%. 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 dividend payout ratio is 92.23%.

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.