Grassi Investment Management Sells 250 Shares of AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB)

Grassi Investment Management reduced its holdings in AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB) by 6.9% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 3,385 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 250 shares during the period. Grassi Investment Management’s holdings in AvalonBay Communities were worth $745,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Segment Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 4.6% during the 3rd quarter. Segment Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,025 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $231,000 after purchasing an additional 45 shares during the period. SYSTM Wealth Solutions LLC raised its stake in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 2.7% during the 2nd quarter. SYSTM Wealth Solutions LLC now owns 1,855 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $386,000 after purchasing an additional 49 shares during the period. Patrick M Sweeney & Associates Inc. raised its stake in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 4.1% during the 3rd quarter. Patrick M Sweeney & Associates Inc. now owns 1,268 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $286,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares during the period. Tectonic Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 2.7% during the 3rd quarter. Tectonic Advisors LLC now owns 1,934 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $436,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares during the period. Finally, OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 4.6% during the 3rd quarter. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,244 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $280,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares during the period. 92.61% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently issued reports on AVB shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded AvalonBay Communities from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $247.00 to $262.00 in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. Mizuho upgraded AvalonBay Communities from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $239.00 to $242.00 in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on AvalonBay Communities from $225.00 to $229.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their target price on AvalonBay Communities from $234.00 to $233.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Finally, Barclays initiated coverage on AvalonBay Communities in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $243.00 target price for the company. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $234.53.

AvalonBay Communities Trading Up 2.2 %

AVB stock traded up $4.63 during trading on Monday, hitting $215.40. 201,894 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 484,839. The firm has a market capitalization of $30.64 billion, a PE ratio of 29.47, a P/E/G ratio of 3.30 and a beta of 0.99. AvalonBay Communities, Inc. has a 1 year low of $169.37 and a 1 year high of $239.29. The company has a 50-day moving average of $225.35 and a 200-day moving average of $220.35. 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 issued its earnings results 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). The company had revenue of $734.31 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $731.67 million. AvalonBay Communities had a net margin of 36.20% and a return on equity of 8.84%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.66 earnings per share. Analysts predict that AvalonBay Communities, Inc. will post 11.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AvalonBay Communities Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be issued a dividend of $1.70 per share. This represents a $6.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.16%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 31st. AvalonBay Communities’s dividend payout ratio is presently 93.02%.

Insider Activity at AvalonBay Communities

In other AvalonBay Communities news, Director Timothy J. Naughton sold 2,261 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $233.78, for a total transaction of $528,576.58. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 111,436 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $26,051,508.08. This represents a 1.99 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 0.42% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.