AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB) Stake Boosted by Walter Public Investments Inc.

Walter Public Investments Inc. grew its stake in shares of AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB) by 45.5% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,200 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,000 shares during the period. Walter Public Investments Inc.’s holdings in AvalonBay Communities were worth $721,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of AvalonBay Communities during the 2nd quarter valued at $32,000. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its holdings in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 1,877.8% during the 2nd quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 178 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $37,000 after acquiring an additional 169 shares in the last quarter. Mather Group LLC. grew its holdings in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 38.6% during the 3rd quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 201 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $45,000 after acquiring an additional 56 shares in the last quarter. BROOKFIELD Corp ON purchased a new position in shares of AvalonBay Communities during the 1st quarter valued at $39,000. Finally, Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. grew its holdings in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 50.0% during the 1st quarter. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. now owns 225 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $42,000 after acquiring an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. 92.61% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

AvalonBay Communities Stock Up 0.9 %

Shares of AVB opened at $225.67 on Thursday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $222.83 and a 200-day simple moving average of $206.13. The firm has a market capitalization of $32.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.58, a P/E/G ratio of 3.33 and a beta of 0.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a quick ratio of 2.03 and a current ratio of 2.03. AvalonBay Communities, Inc. has a 52 week low of $160.45 and a 52 week high of $236.26.

AvalonBay Communities (NYSE:AVB) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 31st. The real estate investment trust reported $1.78 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.71 by ($0.93). The company had revenue of $726.04 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $718.49 million. AvalonBay Communities had a net margin of 29.61% and a return on equity of 7.16%. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.66 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that AvalonBay Communities, Inc. will post 11.01 earnings per share for the current year.

AvalonBay Communities Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Investors of record on Monday, September 30th were paid a $1.70 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 30th. This represents a $6.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.01%. AvalonBay Communities’s payout ratio is currently 101.19%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on AVB shares. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $210.00 to $228.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, July 18th. Evercore ISI upped their price objective on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $225.00 to $229.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a report on Monday, September 16th. Zelman & Associates upgraded shares of AvalonBay Communities to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, September 5th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price objective on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $206.00 to $249.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 10th. Finally, BNP Paribas started coverage on shares of AvalonBay Communities in a report on Wednesday, September 11th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $250.00 price objective for the company. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $225.88.

Insider Activity at AvalonBay Communities

In related news, SVP Keri A. Shea sold 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $207.17, for a total value of $414,340.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 4,383 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $908,026.11. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other AvalonBay Communities news, CIO Matthew H. Birenbaum sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $208.90, for a total transaction of $1,044,500.00. Following the sale, the executive now directly owns 65,967 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,780,506.30. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, SVP Keri A. Shea sold 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $207.17, for a total transaction of $414,340.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 4,383 shares in the company, valued at $908,026.11. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.42% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.