Flputnam Investment Management Co. Sells 461 Shares of AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB)

Flputnam Investment Management Co. trimmed its position in AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB) by 16.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 2,303 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 461 shares during the period. Flputnam Investment Management Co.’s holdings in AvalonBay Communities were worth $431,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank bought a new stake in AvalonBay Communities during the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,001,550,000. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its stake in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 57.1% in the first quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,140,014 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $531,516,000 after purchasing an additional 777,631 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its holdings in AvalonBay Communities by 18.5% in the first quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 4,863,429 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $817,348,000 after purchasing an additional 759,388 shares during the period. Long Pond Capital LP increased its holdings in AvalonBay Communities by 255.8% in the fourth quarter. Long Pond Capital LP now owns 767,824 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $124,019,000 after purchasing an additional 552,042 shares during the period. Finally, State Street Corp lifted its holdings in AvalonBay Communities by 5.6% during the 1st quarter. State Street Corp now owns 10,087,597 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $1,711,547,000 after buying an additional 531,677 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.61% of the company’s stock.

AvalonBay Communities Stock Performance

NYSE AVB opened at $182.05 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $25.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.79, a PEG ratio of 3.33 and a beta of 0.92. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $180.96 and a 200 day simple moving average of $177.85. The company has a current ratio of 1.44, a quick ratio of 1.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68. AvalonBay Communities, Inc. has a 12-month low of $160.45 and a 12-month high of $198.65.

AvalonBay Communities (NYSE:AVB) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 business had revenue of $704.71 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $701.67 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.59 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that AvalonBay Communities, Inc. will post 10.8 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AvalonBay Communities Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 28th were paid a $1.70 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 27th. 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 3.74%. AvalonBay Communities’s dividend payout ratio is 103.82%.

Insider Activity at AvalonBay Communities

In related news, EVP Joanne M. Lockridge sold 1,750 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $185.10, for a total value 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 approximately $4,054,985.70. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other AvalonBay Communities news, EVP Joanne M. Lockridge sold 1,750 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $185.10, for a total value 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 approximately $4,054,985.70. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Kevin P. O’shea sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $185.65, for a total transaction of $928,250.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 31,308 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,812,330.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.42% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on AVB. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft began coverage on AvalonBay Communities in a research note on Tuesday, January 30th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $206.00 price target for the company. Mizuho reduced their price objective on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $188.00 to $185.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 28th. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $191.00 target price on shares of AvalonBay Communities in a research note on Thursday, February 22nd. Truist Financial cut their price target on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $201.00 to $197.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 9th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and issued a $185.00 price objective on shares of AvalonBay Communities in a research report on Friday, February 2nd. Nine investment 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, AvalonBay Communities currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $196.78.

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.