1,119 Shares in AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB) Acquired by Financial Advisors Network Inc.

Financial Advisors Network Inc. acquired a new position in AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 1,119 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock, valued at approximately $209,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Dai ichi Life Insurance Company Ltd increased its holdings in AvalonBay Communities by 127.3% in the fourth quarter. Dai ichi Life Insurance Company Ltd now owns 17,853 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $3,342,000 after buying an additional 10,000 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its holdings in AvalonBay Communities by 12.8% during the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 202,067 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $37,831,000 after purchasing an additional 22,892 shares during the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. grew its holdings in AvalonBay Communities by 21.0% during the fourth quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 13,465 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $2,521,000 after purchasing an additional 2,339 shares during the last quarter. CreativeOne Wealth LLC acquired a new position in AvalonBay Communities during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $317,000. Finally, Clearbridge Investments LLC grew its holdings in AvalonBay Communities by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 1,838,702 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $344,242,000 after purchasing an additional 25,625 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.61% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

AvalonBay Communities Price Performance

Shares of AvalonBay Communities stock traded down $1.48 during trading on Thursday, reaching $196.12. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 68,617 shares, compared to its average volume of 762,173. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $188.14 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $181.80. The company has a current ratio of 1.07, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68. AvalonBay Communities, Inc. has a one year low of $160.45 and a one year high of $200.71. The stock has a market capitalization of $27.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.91 and a beta of 0.90.

AvalonBay Communities (NYSE:AVB) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 26th. The real estate investment trust reported $1.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.64 by ($1.42). AvalonBay Communities had a net margin of 34.05% and a return on equity of 8.12%. The business had revenue of $712.86 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $706.61 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.57 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that AvalonBay Communities, Inc. will post 10.88 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AvalonBay Communities Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 15th. Investors of record on Friday, June 28th will be given a $1.70 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 28th. This represents a $6.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.47%. AvalonBay Communities’s payout ratio is 101.19%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have commented on AVB shares. Evercore ISI downgraded AvalonBay Communities from an “outperform” rating to an “inline” rating and set a $202.00 price target on the stock. in a report on Monday, May 13th. Piper Sandler raised their price objective on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $207.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, April 29th. Argus raised their price objective on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $188.00 to $212.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 30th. Truist Financial lowered their price objective on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $201.00 to $197.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 9th. Finally, UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $199.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 14th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $202.83.

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.