Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank Sells 3,234 Shares of AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB)

Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank cut its stake in shares of AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB) by 3.9% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 79,106 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 3,234 shares during the period. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank’s holdings in AvalonBay Communities were worth $14,810,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Neo Ivy Capital Management bought a new stake in shares of AvalonBay Communities during the third quarter valued at about $3,610,000. Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. increased its position in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 2.1% during the fourth quarter. Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. now owns 248,699 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $46,561,000 after buying an additional 5,061 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. increased its position in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 2.2% in the fourth quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. now owns 994,505 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $186,191,000 after purchasing an additional 21,760 shares during the last quarter. Sterling Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of AvalonBay Communities in the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,625,000. Finally, Glenmede Trust Co. NA increased its position in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 55.5% in the third quarter. Glenmede Trust Co. NA now owns 2,890 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $496,000 after purchasing an additional 1,031 shares during the last quarter. 92.61% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Piper Sandler restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $207.00 price objective on shares of AvalonBay Communities in a research report on Tuesday, March 26th. Truist Financial cut their target price on AvalonBay Communities from $201.00 to $197.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 9th. Wolfe Research lowered AvalonBay Communities from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 2nd. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and issued a $185.00 target price on shares of AvalonBay Communities in a research note on Friday, February 2nd. Finally, Barclays raised AvalonBay Communities from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $194.00 to $204.00 in a research note on Tuesday, February 20th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $196.78.

AvalonBay Communities Stock Performance

Shares of AVB stock opened at $182.05 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $180.96 and a 200 day moving average of $177.85. AvalonBay Communities, Inc. has a 52 week low of $160.45 and a 52 week high of $198.65. The firm has a market capitalization of $25.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.79, a PEG ratio of 3.33 and a beta of 0.92. 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 (NYSE:AVB) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 6th. The real estate investment trust reported $1.70 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.73 by ($1.03). The firm had revenue of $704.71 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $701.67 million. AvalonBay Communities had a return on equity of 7.98% and a net margin of 33.56%. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.59 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that AvalonBay Communities, Inc. will post 10.8 earnings per share for the current year.

AvalonBay Communities Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 28th were issued a dividend of $1.70 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 27th. This is an increase from AvalonBay Communities’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.65. This represents a $6.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.74%. AvalonBay Communities’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 103.82%.

Insider Activity

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 approximately $4,054,985.70. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 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 approximately $4,054,985.70. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CFO Kevin P. O’shea sold 5,000 shares of AvalonBay Communities stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $185.65, for a total value of $928,250.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 31,308 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,812,330.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.42% of the company’s stock.

AvalonBay Communities Profile

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.