Greenleaf Trust Boosts Stock Holdings in AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB)

Greenleaf Trust lifted its position in shares of AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB) by 5.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,982 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after acquiring an additional 160 shares during the period. Greenleaf Trust’s holdings in AvalonBay Communities were worth $558,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Xponance Inc. increased its position in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 23,886 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $4,472,000 after acquiring an additional 183 shares in the last quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. increased its position in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 230.7% during the fourth quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 8,748 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $1,638,000 after acquiring an additional 6,103 shares in the last quarter. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt increased its position in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 128.3% during the fourth quarter. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt now owns 1,066 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $201,000 after acquiring an additional 599 shares in the last quarter. Wealth Alliance increased its position in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 5.8% during the fourth quarter. Wealth Alliance now owns 1,595 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $299,000 after acquiring an additional 88 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Rye Brook Capital LLC increased its position in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 2.3% during the fourth quarter. Rye Brook Capital LLC now owns 17,600 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $3,295,000 after acquiring an additional 400 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.61% of the company’s stock.

AvalonBay Communities Stock Up 1.5 %

AVB opened at $186.87 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 1.44 and a current ratio of 1.44. AvalonBay Communities, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $160.45 and a fifty-two week high of $198.65. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $181.41 and its 200 day moving average is $178.22. The stock has a market cap of $26.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.43 and a beta of 0.92.

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

AvalonBay Communities Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 28th were paid a dividend of $1.70 per share. 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. This represents a $6.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.64%. AvalonBay Communities’s payout ratio is 103.82%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AVB has been the subject of several analyst reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft initiated coverage on shares of AvalonBay Communities in a research report on Tuesday, January 30th. They set a “buy” rating and a $206.00 price target for the company. Piper Sandler restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $207.00 target price on shares of AvalonBay Communities in a report on Tuesday, March 26th. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $191.00 target price on shares of AvalonBay Communities in a report on Thursday, February 22nd. Barclays upgraded shares of AvalonBay Communities from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $194.00 to $204.00 in a report on Tuesday, February 20th. Finally, Mizuho dropped their target price 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. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $196.78.

Insider Activity at AvalonBay Communities

In related news, CFO Kevin P. O’shea sold 5,000 shares of AvalonBay Communities stock in a transaction on Friday, March 8th. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at approximately $5,812,330.20. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other AvalonBay Communities news, CFO Kevin P. O’shea sold 5,000 shares of AvalonBay Communities stock in a transaction on Friday, March 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $185.65, for a total value of $928,250.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 31,308 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,812,330.20. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Joanne M. Lockridge sold 1,750 shares of AvalonBay Communities stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $185.10, for a total transaction of $323,925.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 21,907 shares in the company, valued at $4,054,985.70. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.48% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.