Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. Sells 4,722 Shares of AvalonBay Communities, Inc. $AVB

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. cut its stake in shares of AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB) by 0.6% during the first quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 724,280 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 4,722 shares during the quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc.’s holdings in AvalonBay Communities were worth $118,311,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 3.9% in the 1st quarter. Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 84,885 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $13,748,000 after purchasing an additional 3,154 shares during the last quarter. Abel Hall LLC increased its position in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 50.5% during the 1st quarter. Abel Hall LLC now owns 1,791 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $293,000 after purchasing an additional 601 shares during the last quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in AvalonBay Communities by 34.0% during the 1st quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,872 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $469,000 after buying an additional 728 shares during the period. Optas LLC purchased a new stake in AvalonBay Communities during the 1st quarter valued at $377,000. Finally, Leonteq Securities AG purchased a new stake in AvalonBay Communities during the 1st quarter valued at $55,000. 92.61% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have commented on AVB. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating and set a $203.00 price objective (down from $208.00) on shares of AvalonBay Communities in a research note on Thursday, March 26th. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their target price on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $180.00 to $188.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. Scotiabank raised their target price on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $187.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday. Piper Sandler lifted their price target on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $183.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, May 29th. Finally, Truist Financial upped their price target on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $201.00 to $202.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 16th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and fourteen have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $195.67.

AvalonBay Communities Trading Up 1.3%

AVB traded up $2.42 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $191.88. 924,303 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,044,461. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $186.13 and a 200 day moving average price of $178.79. The firm has a market capitalization of $26.69 billion, a PE ratio of 27.81, a PEG ratio of 3.30 and a beta of 0.77. The company has a quick ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 0.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80. AvalonBay Communities, Inc. has a 52-week low of $160.10 and a 52-week high of $205.00.

AvalonBay Communities (NYSE:AVB) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The real estate investment trust reported $2.33 earnings per share 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 business had revenue of $770.28 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $768.80 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.83 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that AvalonBay Communities, Inc. will post 11.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AvalonBay Communities Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 30th will be issued a $1.78 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, June 30th. This represents a $7.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.7%. AvalonBay Communities’s dividend payout ratio is presently 103.19%.

AvalonBay Communities Company 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.