Hsbc Holdings PLC Reduces Holdings in AvalonBay Communities, Inc. $AVB

Hsbc Holdings PLC reduced its stake in shares of AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB) by 15.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 626,314 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 110,596 shares during the period. Hsbc Holdings PLC’s holdings in AvalonBay Communities were worth $113,588,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of AVB. State Street Corp raised its holdings in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 1.0% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 9,537,966 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $1,858,788,000 after acquiring an additional 92,467 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of AvalonBay Communities during the fourth quarter valued at $1,394,635,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its position in AvalonBay Communities by 22.4% during the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 5,159,950 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $935,551,000 after purchasing an additional 944,129 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its position in AvalonBay Communities by 9.3% during the 4th quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 4,497,047 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $815,360,000 after purchasing an additional 383,983 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in AvalonBay Communities by 5.8% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,151,217 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $750,042,000 after buying an additional 228,244 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.61% of the company’s stock.

AvalonBay Communities Stock Performance

AvalonBay Communities stock opened at $177.55 on Monday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $181.32 and its 200-day moving average is $177.64. The company has a market cap of $24.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.73, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 0.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 0.62 and a quick ratio of 0.62. AvalonBay Communities, Inc. has a 12 month low of $160.10 and a 12 month high of $209.86.

AvalonBay Communities (NYSE:AVB) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The real estate investment trust reported $2.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.80 by ($0.47). AvalonBay Communities had a return on equity of 9.56% and a net margin of 37.21%.The firm had revenue of $770.28 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $768.80 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.83 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that AvalonBay Communities, Inc. will post 11.28 earnings per share for the current year.

AvalonBay Communities Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 30th will be paid a dividend of $1.78 per share. This represents a $7.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.0%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, June 30th. AvalonBay Communities’s payout ratio is currently 103.19%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on AVB shares. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of AvalonBay Communities from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, May 9th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $193.00 to $191.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 23rd. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating and set a $203.00 price target (down from $208.00) on shares of AvalonBay Communities in a research report on Thursday, March 26th. Scotiabank cut their price target on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $190.00 to $187.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 14th. Finally, Wolfe Research upgraded shares of AvalonBay Communities from an “outperform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $209.00 price target on the stock in a report on Monday, June 1st. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and thirteen have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, AvalonBay Communities has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $195.13.

AvalonBay Communities Profile

AvalonBay Communities, Inc (NYSE: AVB) is a publicly traded real estate investment trust (REIT) that owns, develops, redevelops and manages multifamily residential properties. The company focuses on professionally managed apartment communities, offering a range of rental housing options and related resident services. As a REIT, AvalonBay’s core activities center on the acquisition and development of apartment assets and the ongoing operations and leasing of those communities.

AvalonBay’s operating activities include ground-up development, strategic redevelopment of existing properties, property and asset management, and on-site leasing and resident services.