Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund Sells 61,100 Shares of AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB)

Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund lowered its stake in shares of AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB) by 77.8% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 17,400 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 61,100 shares during the period. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund’s holdings in AvalonBay Communities were worth $3,919,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in AvalonBay Communities by 3.6% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,240,436 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $504,658,000 after acquiring an additional 78,800 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in AvalonBay Communities by 0.7% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,074,269 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $429,145,000 after purchasing an additional 13,631 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its position in AvalonBay Communities by 11.9% during the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,183,121 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $244,776,000 after buying an additional 126,055 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. raised its stake in AvalonBay Communities by 6.2% in the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 461,937 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $95,570,000 after buying an additional 26,859 shares during the period. Finally, Swiss National Bank lifted its position in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 0.4% in the third quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 422,021 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $95,060,000 after buying an additional 1,500 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.61% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AVB has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their target price on AvalonBay Communities from $206.00 to $249.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 10th. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $225.00 to $229.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research report on Monday, September 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $212.00 to $247.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $222.00 to $244.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, August 26th. Finally, Zelman & Associates upgraded shares of AvalonBay Communities to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 5th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $228.67.

Insider Buying and Selling at AvalonBay Communities

In other news, Director Timothy J. Naughton sold 2,261 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $233.78, for a total value of $528,576.58. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 111,436 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $26,051,508.08. This represents a 1.99 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.42% of the company’s stock.

AvalonBay Communities Stock Down 1.0 %

Shares of NYSE AVB opened at $235.35 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $33.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.20, a PEG ratio of 3.47 and a beta of 0.97. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $226.85 and its 200 day moving average is $215.26. AvalonBay Communities, Inc. has a 52 week low of $169.37 and a 52 week high of $239.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a quick ratio of 1.64 and a current ratio of 1.64.

AvalonBay Communities (NYSE:AVB) last released its earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The real estate investment trust reported $2.61 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.71 by ($0.10). AvalonBay Communities had a net margin of 36.20% and a return on equity of 8.84%. The firm had revenue of $734.31 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $731.67 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.66 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that AvalonBay Communities, Inc. will post 11.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AvalonBay Communities Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be paid a dividend of $1.70 per share. This represents a $6.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.89%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 31st. AvalonBay Communities’s payout ratio is presently 93.02%.

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.