JPMorgan Chase & Co. Reduces Holdings in AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB)

JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut its stake in AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB) by 9.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 3,670,784 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 389,713 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. owned about 2.58% of AvalonBay Communities worth $807,463,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. lifted its holdings in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 29.6% in 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. West Oak Capital LLC increased its position in 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 worth $356,000 after buying an additional 14,180 shares during the period. Portfolio Design Labs LLC lifted its stake in 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 last quarter. Savant Capital LLC boosted its holdings in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 8.7% in the fourth quarter. Savant Capital LLC now owns 1,264 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $278,000 after acquiring an additional 101 shares during the period. Finally, Jones Financial Companies Lllp grew its position in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 466.7% during the fourth quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 1,088 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $239,000 after acquiring an additional 896 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.61% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently weighed in on AVB shares. Piper Sandler decreased their price target on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $270.00 to $265.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of AvalonBay Communities from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $247.00 to $262.00 in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. Zelman & Associates raised AvalonBay Communities from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Morgan Stanley downgraded AvalonBay Communities from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $236.00 to $223.00 in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lifted 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. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, AvalonBay Communities currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $238.64.

AvalonBay Communities Stock Performance

NYSE:AVB opened at $213.50 on Friday. AvalonBay Communities, Inc. has a twelve month low of $177.40 and a twelve month high of $239.29. The company has a market capitalization of $30.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.13, 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. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $217.50 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $222.49.

AvalonBay Communities (NYSE:AVB) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The real estate investment trust reported $2.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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, research analysts expect that AvalonBay Communities, Inc. will post 11.48 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AvalonBay Communities Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st will be given a dividend of $1.75 per share. This represents a $7.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.28%. 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 (DPR) is currently 92.23%.

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.