Pictet Asset Management Holding SA Sells 2,160 Shares of AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB)

Pictet Asset Management Holding SA trimmed its holdings in AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB) by 1.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 119,894 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 2,160 shares during the quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA owned about 0.08% of AvalonBay Communities worth $26,373,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its stake in AvalonBay Communities by 4.0% in the 4th quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 230,701 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $50,747,000 after purchasing an additional 8,796 shares in the last quarter. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC raised its holdings in AvalonBay Communities by 53,908.6% in the fourth quarter. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC now owns 37,806 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $8,316,000 after buying an additional 37,736 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of AvalonBay Communities in the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,499,050,000. Blair William & Co. IL grew its holdings in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 4.5% during the fourth quarter. Blair William & Co. IL now owns 9,161 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $2,015,000 after buying an additional 393 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Loomis Sayles & Co. L P increased its position in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 42.6% during the fourth quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P now owns 442 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $97,000 after acquiring an additional 132 shares in the last quarter. 92.61% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

AvalonBay Communities Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:AVB opened at $214.73 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $30.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.29, a P/E/G ratio of 3.11 and a beta of 1.00. AvalonBay Communities, Inc. has a 1-year low of $177.40 and a 1-year high of $239.29. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $217.43 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $222.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 1.64 and a quick ratio of 1.64.

AvalonBay Communities (NYSE:AVB) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The real estate investment trust reported $2.80 earnings per share 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%. Research analysts expect that AvalonBay Communities, Inc. will post 11.48 EPS 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. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be issued a dividend of $1.75 per share. This is a positive change from AvalonBay Communities’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.70. This represents a $7.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.26%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. AvalonBay Communities’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 92.23%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have commented on AVB. Evercore ISI increased their target price on AvalonBay Communities from $230.00 to $240.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Mizuho upgraded AvalonBay Communities from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $239.00 to $242.00 in a report on Monday, January 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised AvalonBay Communities from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $247.00 to $262.00 in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. Barclays dropped their price target on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $230.00 to $226.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut shares of AvalonBay Communities from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and decreased their price objective for the company from $236.00 to $223.00 in a report on Friday, January 24th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, AvalonBay Communities presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $238.64.

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.