Federated Hermes Inc. Cuts Stock Holdings in AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB)

Federated Hermes Inc. lessened its holdings in AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB - Free Report) by 28.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 5,324 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after selling 2,077 shares during the period. Federated Hermes Inc.'s holdings in AvalonBay Communities were worth $1,171,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of AVB. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in AvalonBay Communities during the fourth quarter worth $1,499,050,000. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its stake in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 49.9% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,488,975 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $547,500,000 after purchasing an additional 828,009 shares during the last quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. boosted its position in 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 valued at $121,927,000 after purchasing an additional 188,906 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in AvalonBay Communities in the fourth quarter valued at about $35,153,000. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in AvalonBay Communities by 3.0% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,693,457 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $810,470,000 after purchasing an additional 107,655 shares during the last quarter. 92.61% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of AvalonBay Communities from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and raised their price target for the company from $247.00 to $262.00 in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. Piper Sandler cut their price target on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $270.00 to $265.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Morgan Stanley lowered 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. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on AvalonBay Communities from $230.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock an "in-line" rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on AvalonBay Communities from $226.00 to $229.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $237.47.

View Our Latest Stock Analysis on AvalonBay Communities

AvalonBay Communities Price Performance

NYSE:AVB opened at $200.74 on Tuesday. The firm's fifty day moving average is $212.55 and its two-hundred day moving average is $219.64. The firm has a market cap of $28.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.45, a PEG ratio of 3.11 and a beta of 0.86. AvalonBay Communities, Inc. has a one year low of $177.40 and a one year high of $239.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 1.64 and a current ratio of 1.64.

AvalonBay Communities (NYSE:AVB - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The real estate investment trust reported $2.80 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%. Research analysts expect that AvalonBay Communities, Inc. will post 11.48 EPS for the current year.

AvalonBay Communities Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st will be paid a $1.75 dividend. This is a boost from AvalonBay Communities's previous quarterly dividend of $1.70. This represents a $7.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.49%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. AvalonBay Communities's payout ratio is currently 92.23%.

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.

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