1,330 Shares in AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB) Purchased by Cetera Trust Company N.A

Cetera Trust Company N.A purchased a new stake in AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 1,330 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock, valued at approximately $249,000.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AVB. Cetera Advisor Networks LLC boosted its position in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 8.2% in the 1st quarter. Cetera Advisor Networks LLC now owns 1,485 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $369,000 after purchasing an additional 113 shares during the period. Private Advisor Group LLC boosted its holdings in AvalonBay Communities by 18.0% in the first quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 2,007 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $499,000 after purchasing an additional 306 shares in the last quarter. Prudential PLC acquired a new stake in shares of AvalonBay Communities in the first quarter worth about $704,000. Cetera Investment Advisers grew its position in AvalonBay Communities by 54.4% in the 1st quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 5,260 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $1,306,000 after purchasing an additional 1,853 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Candriam Luxembourg S.C.A. increased its stake in AvalonBay Communities by 7.8% during the first quarter. Candriam Luxembourg S.C.A. now owns 12,461 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $3,095,000 after acquiring an additional 901 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 92.61% of the company’s stock.

AvalonBay Communities Stock Up 1.2 %

AVB stock opened at $184.13 on Monday. The company’s 50 day moving average is $181.15 and its 200 day moving average is $178.10. AvalonBay Communities, Inc. has a 1-year low of $160.45 and a 1-year high of $198.65. The stock has a market cap of $26.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.43 and a beta of 0.92. 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 (NYSE:AVB) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 6th. The real estate investment trust reported $1.70 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.73 by ($1.03). AvalonBay Communities had a net margin of 33.56% and a return on equity of 7.98%. The company had revenue of $704.71 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $701.67 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.59 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that AvalonBay Communities, Inc. will post 10.8 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AvalonBay Communities Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 28th were given a $1.70 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 27th. This represents a $6.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.69%. This is an increase from AvalonBay Communities’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.65. AvalonBay Communities’s payout ratio is presently 103.82%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on AVB shares. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $185.00 price objective on shares of AvalonBay Communities in a research note on Friday, February 2nd. Barclays raised shares of AvalonBay Communities from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $194.00 to $204.00 in a report on Tuesday, February 20th. Truist Financial decreased their price objective on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $201.00 to $197.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 9th. Wolfe Research cut shares of AvalonBay Communities from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 2nd. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft started coverage on shares of AvalonBay Communities in a report on Tuesday, January 30th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $206.00 price target for the company. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, AvalonBay Communities has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $196.78.

Insider Buying and Selling at AvalonBay Communities

In related news, EVP Joanne M. Lockridge sold 1,750 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $185.10, for a total transaction of $323,925.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 21,907 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,054,985.70. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, EVP Joanne M. Lockridge sold 1,750 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $185.10, for a total value of $323,925.00. Following 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 can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Kevin P. O’shea sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $185.65, for a total transaction of $928,250.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 31,308 shares in the company, valued at $5,812,330.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.48% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.