Byrne Asset Management LLC Cuts Stock Position in AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB)

Byrne Asset Management LLC decreased its stake in AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB) by 27.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 135 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 50 shares during the quarter. Byrne Asset Management LLC’s holdings in AvalonBay Communities were worth $30,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of AVB. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC purchased a new position in shares of AvalonBay Communities during the third quarter valued at $26,000. Brooklyn Investment Group acquired a new position in shares of AvalonBay Communities in the third quarter valued at about $39,000. Mather Group LLC. lifted its holdings in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 38.6% during the third quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 201 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $45,000 after purchasing an additional 56 shares during the period. Prospera Private Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in AvalonBay Communities in the third quarter valued at approximately $51,000. Finally, MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB raised its position in AvalonBay Communities by 59.9% during the 4th quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 478 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $105,000 after buying an additional 179 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.61% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Timothy J. Naughton sold 2,261 shares of AvalonBay Communities stock in a transaction on Monday, November 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $233.78, for a total value of $528,576.58. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 111,436 shares in the company, valued at $26,051,508.08. The trade was a 1.99 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Company insiders own 0.42% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently commented on AVB. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective 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. Mizuho upgraded shares of AvalonBay Communities from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $239.00 to $242.00 in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Scotiabank decreased their target price on AvalonBay Communities from $244.00 to $241.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, November 14th. Morgan Stanley downgraded AvalonBay Communities from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and cut their price target for the stock from $236.00 to $223.00 in a report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Barclays lowered their target price on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $243.00 to $230.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $234.33.

AvalonBay Communities Stock Down 0.7 %

AvalonBay Communities stock opened at $220.23 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $31.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 0.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a quick ratio of 1.64 and a current ratio of 1.64. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $220.79 and its two-hundred day moving average is $221.98. AvalonBay Communities, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $169.37 and a fifty-two week high of $239.29.

AvalonBay Communities (NYSE:AVB) last issued its quarterly 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 return on equity of 8.84% and a net margin of 36.20%. Analysts predict that AvalonBay Communities, Inc. will post 11.04 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AvalonBay Communities Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st will be given a $1.75 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $7.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.18%. This is an increase from AvalonBay Communities’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.70. AvalonBay Communities’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 92.23%.

AvalonBay Communities 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.