Excalibur Management Corp Cuts Holdings in AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB)

Excalibur Management Corp decreased its holdings in AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB) by 1.6% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 3,858 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 62 shares during the quarter. Excalibur Management Corp’s holdings in AvalonBay Communities were worth $849,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in AVB. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its holdings in AvalonBay Communities by 678.9% in the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 1,715,050 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $386,315,000 after purchasing an additional 1,494,872 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its position in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 2.2% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 9,245,028 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $2,097,971,000 after buying an additional 196,938 shares during the period. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 51.7% during the fourth quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 554,290 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $121,927,000 after buying an additional 188,906 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of AvalonBay Communities in the fourth quarter valued at $35,153,000. Finally, Proficio Capital Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of AvalonBay Communities in the 4th quarter valued at $23,513,000. 92.61% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

AvalonBay Communities Price Performance

AVB stock opened at $212.61 on Wednesday. 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 company has a market capitalization of $30.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.01, a PEG ratio of 3.11 and a beta of 1.00. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $217.75 and a 200-day simple moving average of $222.70. AvalonBay Communities, Inc. has a twelve month low of $177.40 and a twelve month high of $239.29.

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, equities analysts anticipate that AvalonBay Communities, Inc. will post 11.48 EPS for the current year.

AvalonBay Communities Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be paid a $1.75 dividend. This is an increase from AvalonBay Communities’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.70. This represents a $7.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.29%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. AvalonBay Communities’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 92.23%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the company. Truist Financial lifted their target price on AvalonBay Communities from $229.00 to $230.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, March 10th. 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 report on Tuesday, December 17th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target 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, February 7th. Zelman & Associates upgraded AvalonBay Communities from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Barclays lowered their target price on AvalonBay Communities from $230.00 to $226.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $238.64.

About AvalonBay Communities

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.