Sentry Investment Management LLC Sells 121 Shares of AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB)

Sentry Investment Management LLC lowered its holdings in AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB) by 23.1% in the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 403 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 121 shares during the period. Sentry Investment Management LLC’s holdings in AvalonBay Communities were worth $86,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Ancora Advisors LLC raised its position in AvalonBay Communities by 1,666.7% in the 4th quarter. Ancora Advisors LLC now owns 159 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 150 shares during the last quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of AvalonBay Communities during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Crowley Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of AvalonBay Communities during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $44,000. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. bought a new position in AvalonBay Communities during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $53,000. Finally, Continuum Advisory LLC lifted its position in AvalonBay Communities by 12,200.0% during the fourth quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC now owns 246 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $54,000 after purchasing an additional 244 shares during the period. 92.61% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently commented on the company. Piper Sandler cut their price objective on AvalonBay Communities from $265.00 to $255.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, May 5th. Barclays raised their target price on AvalonBay Communities from $227.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, May 9th. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price target on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $223.00 to $220.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 8th. BMO Capital Markets downgraded shares of AvalonBay Communities from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and set a $220.00 price target on the stock. in a research report on Friday, April 4th. Finally, Truist Financial boosted their price objective on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $229.00 to $230.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, March 10th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $237.86.

AvalonBay Communities Stock Up 0.5%

Shares of AVB stock opened at $204.91 on Thursday. AvalonBay Communities, Inc. has a 52 week low of $180.40 and a 52 week high of $239.29. The company has a quick ratio of 1.64, a current ratio of 1.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $203.72 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $214.70. The stock has a market cap of $29.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.00, a PEG ratio of 3.11 and a beta of 0.86.

AvalonBay Communities (NYSE:AVB) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The real estate investment trust reported $2.83 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.80 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $693.43 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $744.61 million. AvalonBay Communities had a net margin of 37.13% and a return on equity of 9.15%. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $2.70 earnings per share. Analysts predict that AvalonBay Communities, Inc. will post 11.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AvalonBay Communities Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 30th will be given a dividend of $1.75 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 30th. This represents a $7.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.42%. AvalonBay Communities’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 87.17%.

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.