Groupama Asset Managment Sells 18,322 Shares of AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB)

Groupama Asset Managment cut its holdings in shares of AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB) by 59.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 12,701 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 18,322 shares during the quarter. Groupama Asset Managment’s holdings in AvalonBay Communities were worth $2,792,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. raised its stake in AvalonBay Communities by 29.6% during the 4th quarter. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. now owns 1,260 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $277,000 after purchasing an additional 288 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its holdings in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 1.4% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 4,060,497 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $914,627,000 after purchasing an additional 55,588 shares during the period. West Oak Capital LLC raised its position in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 875.3% during the fourth quarter. West Oak Capital LLC now owns 15,800 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $356,000 after buying an additional 14,180 shares during the last quarter. Portfolio Design Labs LLC lifted its stake in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 27.0% in the fourth quarter. Portfolio Design Labs LLC now owns 22,356 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $4,918,000 after buying an additional 4,747 shares during the period. Finally, Savant Capital LLC grew its position in AvalonBay Communities by 8.7% during the fourth quarter. Savant Capital LLC now owns 1,264 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $278,000 after buying an additional 101 shares in the last quarter. 92.61% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

AvalonBay Communities Stock Performance

NYSE:AVB opened at $214.45 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $30.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.11 and a beta of 1.00. 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, Inc. has a 1 year low of $177.40 and a 1 year high of $239.29. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $217.34 and a 200-day moving average of $222.13.

AvalonBay Communities (NYSE:AVB) last released 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 net margin of 37.13% and a return on equity of 9.15%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that AvalonBay Communities, Inc. will post 11.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AvalonBay Communities Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared 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 a boost from AvalonBay Communities’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.70. This represents a $7.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.26%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. AvalonBay Communities’s dividend payout ratio is 92.23%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

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.