Meritage Portfolio Management Reduces Stock Holdings in AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB)

Meritage Portfolio Management cut its holdings in AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB) by 0.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 14,244 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 112 shares during the quarter. Meritage Portfolio Management’s holdings in AvalonBay Communities were worth $2,667,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in AVB. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its holdings in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 17.4% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,298,186 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $394,690,000 after acquiring an additional 341,332 shares in the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB grew its position in AvalonBay Communities by 2,140.1% during the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 213,727 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $40,347,000 after purchasing an additional 204,186 shares during the last quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. increased its stake in AvalonBay Communities by 118.4% during the 3rd quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 318,026 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $54,618,000 after purchasing an additional 172,418 shares in the last quarter. Deutsche Bank AG raised its holdings in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 6.5% in the third quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 2,496,671 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $428,778,000 after buying an additional 151,995 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp lifted its stake in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 5.9% during the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 2,278,363 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $391,286,000 after buying an additional 126,288 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.61% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Joanne M. Lockridge sold 1,750 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $185.10, for a total value of $323,925.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 21,907 shares in the company, valued at $4,054,985.70. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other AvalonBay Communities news, CFO Kevin P. O’shea sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $185.65, for a total transaction of $928,250.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 31,308 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,812,330.20. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Joanne M. Lockridge sold 1,750 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $185.10, for a total value of $323,925.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 21,907 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,054,985.70. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.42% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on AVB shares. Barclays raised AvalonBay Communities from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their target price for the company from $194.00 to $204.00 in a research report on Tuesday, February 20th. Mizuho reduced their price objective on AvalonBay Communities from $188.00 to $185.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 28th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft started coverage on AvalonBay Communities in a research report on Tuesday, January 30th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $206.00 target price on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and set a $185.00 price target on shares of AvalonBay Communities in a research report on Friday, February 2nd. Finally, Piper Sandler reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $207.00 price objective on shares of AvalonBay Communities in a report on Tuesday, March 26th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $196.78.

AvalonBay Communities Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:AVB traded down $0.02 during trading on Thursday, reaching $191.32. 1,073,127 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 814,882. The company has a quick ratio of 1.44, a current ratio of 1.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68. AvalonBay Communities, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $160.45 and a fifty-two week high of $198.65. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $182.10 and a 200-day simple moving average of $178.43. The firm has a market cap of $27.20 billion, a PE ratio of 28.92, a P/E/G ratio of 3.51 and a beta of 0.92.

AvalonBay Communities (NYSE:AVB) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 6th. The real estate investment trust reported $1.70 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.73 by ($1.03). AvalonBay Communities had a net margin of 33.56% and a return on equity of 7.98%. The business had revenue of $704.71 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $701.67 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $2.59 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that AvalonBay Communities, Inc. will post 10.8 earnings per share for the current year.

AvalonBay Communities Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 28th were issued a $1.70 dividend. This represents a $6.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.55%. This is a boost from AvalonBay Communities’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.65. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 27th. AvalonBay Communities’s payout ratio is presently 103.82%.

About AvalonBay Communities

As of December 31, 2023, the Company owned or held a direct or indirect ownership interest in 299 apartment communities containing 90,669 apartment homes in 12 states and the District of Columbia, of which 18 communities were under development. The Company is an equity REIT in the business of developing, redeveloping, acquiring and managing apartment communities in leading metropolitan areas in New England, the New York/New Jersey Metro area, the Mid-Atlantic, the Pacific Northwest, and Northern and Southern California, as well as in the Company's expansion regions of Raleigh-Durham and Charlotte, North Carolina, Southeast Florida, Dallas and Austin, Texas, and Denver, Colorado.