Timothy J. Naughton Sells 2,261 Shares of AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB) Stock

AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB) Director Timothy J. Naughton sold 2,261 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $233.78, for a total value of $528,576.58. Following the sale, the director now owns 111,436 shares in the company, valued at $26,051,508.08. The trade was a 1.99 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink.

AvalonBay Communities Price Performance

AvalonBay Communities stock opened at $227.93 on Friday. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $226.23 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $212.05. The firm has a market cap of $32.42 billion, a PE ratio of 31.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.36 and a beta of 0.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a current ratio of 2.03 and a quick ratio of 2.03. AvalonBay Communities, Inc. has a one year low of $166.60 and a one year high of $236.26.

AvalonBay Communities (NYSE:AVB) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 4th. The real estate investment trust reported $2.61 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.71 by ($0.10). AvalonBay Communities had a return on equity of 8.84% and a net margin of 36.20%. The firm had revenue of $734.31 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $731.67 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.66 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that AvalonBay Communities, Inc. will post 11.04 EPS 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 issued a $1.70 dividend. This represents a $6.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.98%. AvalonBay Communities’s dividend payout ratio is presently 93.02%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Truist Financial upped their price objective on AvalonBay Communities from $213.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 27th. Zelman & Associates upgraded shares of AvalonBay Communities to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 5th. Piper Sandler raised their target price on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $230.00 to $255.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price objective on AvalonBay Communities from $234.00 to $233.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their target price on AvalonBay Communities from $210.00 to $228.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 18th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $226.88.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On AvalonBay Communities

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its holdings in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 24.2% in the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 1,831 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $340,000 after acquiring an additional 357 shares during the last quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC grew its stake in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 774.0% during the first quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC now owns 874 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $162,000 after buying an additional 774 shares during the last quarter. Entropy Technologies LP increased its holdings in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 2.5% during the first quarter. Entropy Technologies LP now owns 3,811 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $707,000 after buying an additional 93 shares in the last quarter. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. lifted its stake in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 14.4% in the 1st quarter. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. now owns 32,952 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $6,115,000 after acquiring an additional 4,138 shares during the last quarter. Finally, State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System boosted its holdings in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 9.4% during the 1st quarter. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System now owns 177,298 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $32,899,000 after acquiring an additional 15,236 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.61% of the company’s stock.

AvalonBay Communities Company 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.