AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB) Shares Purchased by Handelsbanken Fonder AB

Handelsbanken Fonder AB raised its stake in AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB) by 2.9% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 67,229 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,881 shares during the period. Handelsbanken Fonder AB’s holdings in AvalonBay Communities were worth $12,587,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. acquired a new stake in AvalonBay Communities during the 3rd quarter worth $26,000. Ronald Blue Trust Inc. grew its holdings 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 during the last quarter. Castleview Partners LLC lifted its stake in AvalonBay Communities by 1,542.9% in the third quarter. Castleview Partners LLC now owns 230 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $39,000 after buying an additional 216 shares during the last quarter. Arlington Trust Co LLC purchased a new stake in AvalonBay Communities in the 4th quarter valued at $45,000. Finally, Lindbrook Capital LLC boosted its stake in AvalonBay Communities by 53.7% during the 3rd quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 312 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $54,000 after purchasing an additional 109 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.61% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Kevin P. O’shea sold 5,000 shares of AvalonBay Communities stock in a transaction that occurred 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 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 sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other AvalonBay Communities news, CFO Kevin P. O’shea sold 5,000 shares of AvalonBay Communities stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of 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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Joanne M. Lockridge sold 1,750 shares of AvalonBay Communities stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 7th. The stock was 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 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. Insiders own 0.48% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AVB has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. KeyCorp reiterated a “sector weight” rating on shares of AvalonBay Communities in a research note on Friday, January 5th. Mizuho decreased their price target on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $188.00 to $185.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 28th. Piper Sandler reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $207.00 price target on shares of AvalonBay Communities in a research note on Tuesday, March 26th. Barclays upgraded shares of AvalonBay Communities from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $194.00 to $204.00 in a research note on Tuesday, February 20th. Finally, Truist Financial reduced their target price on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $201.00 to $197.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 9th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $196.78.

AvalonBay Communities Price Performance

AVB stock opened at $188.66 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $181.74 and a 200-day moving average of $178.34. AvalonBay Communities, Inc. has a 12-month low of $160.45 and a 12-month high of $198.65. The company has a current ratio of 1.44, a quick ratio of 1.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68. The company has a market cap of $26.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.80, a PEG ratio of 3.43 and a beta of 0.92.

AvalonBay Communities (NYSE:AVB) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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). AvalonBay Communities had a net margin of 33.56% and a return on equity of 7.98%. The company had revenue of $704.71 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $701.67 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $2.59 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts expect that AvalonBay Communities, Inc. will post 10.8 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AvalonBay Communities Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 28th were given a dividend of $1.70 per share. 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 3.60%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 27th. AvalonBay Communities’s payout ratio is currently 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.