8,600 Shares in AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB) Acquired by Louisiana State Employees Retirement System

Louisiana State Employees Retirement System acquired a new position in AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 8,600 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock, valued at approximately $1,610,000.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of AVB. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. acquired a new position in shares of AvalonBay Communities during the third quarter worth $26,000. Quarry LP increased its position in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 255.6% during the second quarter. Quarry LP now owns 192 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 138 shares in the last quarter. Castleview Partners LLC increased its position in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 1,542.9% during the third quarter. Castleview Partners LLC now owns 230 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 216 shares in the last quarter. Ronald Blue Trust Inc. increased its position in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 316.7% during the third quarter. Ronald Blue Trust Inc. now owns 225 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 171 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Arlington Trust Co LLC acquired a new position in shares of AvalonBay Communities during the fourth quarter worth $45,000. Institutional investors own 92.61% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at AvalonBay Communities

In other news, CFO Kevin P. O’shea sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $185.65, for a total transaction of $928,250.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 31,308 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,812,330.20. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, CFO Kevin P. O’shea sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 8th. The shares were 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 owns 31,308 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,812,330.20. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Joanne M. Lockridge sold 1,750 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $185.10, for a total transaction of $323,925.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 21,907 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $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

NYSE:AVB opened at $184.13 on Friday. AvalonBay Communities, Inc. has a one year low of $160.45 and a one year high of $198.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 1.44 and a current ratio of 1.44. The firm has a market cap of $26.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.11, a PEG ratio of 3.37 and a beta of 0.92. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $181.15 and its two-hundred day moving average is $177.96.

AvalonBay Communities (NYSE:AVB) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 6th. The real estate investment trust reported $1.70 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.73 by ($1.03). AvalonBay Communities had a return on equity of 7.98% and a net margin of 33.56%. The firm had revenue of $704.71 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $701.67 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.59 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that AvalonBay Communities, Inc. will post 10.8 EPS for the current year.

AvalonBay Communities Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 28th were paid a dividend of $1.70 per share. This is a positive change from AvalonBay Communities’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.65. This represents a $6.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.69%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 27th. AvalonBay Communities’s dividend payout ratio is presently 103.82%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft assumed coverage on AvalonBay Communities in a research report on Tuesday, January 30th. They set a “buy” rating and a $206.00 price target on the stock. Mizuho dropped their price objective on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $188.00 to $185.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 28th. Morgan Stanley raised shares of AvalonBay Communities from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $175.00 to $191.50 in a report on Monday, February 26th. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $191.00 price objective on shares of AvalonBay Communities in a report on Thursday, February 22nd. Finally, KeyCorp reissued a “sector weight” rating on shares of AvalonBay Communities in a report on Friday, January 5th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, AvalonBay Communities has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $196.78.

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.