AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB) Stock Holdings Lifted by Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd

Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd increased its holdings in AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB) by 3.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 36,515 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after buying an additional 1,175 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd’s holdings in AvalonBay Communities were worth $6,836,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV lifted its holdings in AvalonBay Communities by 1.4% in the third quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 4,387 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $753,000 after acquiring an additional 62 shares during the last quarter. First Affirmative Financial Network raised its position in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 4.8% during the 4th quarter. First Affirmative Financial Network now owns 1,494 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $280,000 after purchasing an additional 69 shares during the period. Atria Investments Inc lifted its holdings in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 0.7% in the 3rd quarter. Atria Investments Inc now owns 10,723 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $1,842,000 after purchasing an additional 79 shares during the last quarter. SVB Wealth LLC boosted its position in AvalonBay Communities by 1.1% during the 1st quarter. SVB Wealth LLC now owns 6,968 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $1,731,000 after purchasing an additional 79 shares during the period. Finally, Quantitative Investment Management LLC grew its stake in AvalonBay Communities by 2.9% during the 2nd quarter. Quantitative Investment Management LLC now owns 2,823 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $534,000 after buying an additional 80 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.61% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently commented on AVB. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “neutral” rating and set a $191.00 price target on shares of AvalonBay Communities in a research report on Thursday, February 22nd. Barclays upgraded AvalonBay Communities from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $194.00 to $204.00 in a research report on Tuesday, February 20th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft began coverage on AvalonBay Communities in a report on Tuesday, January 30th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $206.00 price objective for the company. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $207.00 target price on shares of AvalonBay Communities in a research note on Tuesday, March 26th. Finally, Mizuho reduced their price target on AvalonBay Communities from $188.00 to $185.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 28th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $196.78.

AvalonBay Communities Trading Up 1.2 %

Shares of AVB stock opened at $184.13 on Monday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $181.15 and a 200 day simple moving average of $178.10. The stock has a market capitalization of $26.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.11, a P/E/G ratio of 3.43 and a beta of 0.92. AvalonBay Communities, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $160.45 and a fifty-two week high of $198.65. The company has a quick ratio of 1.44, a current ratio of 1.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68.

AvalonBay Communities (NYSE:AVB) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 6th. The real estate investment trust reported $1.70 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.73 by ($1.03). The business had revenue of $704.71 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $701.67 million. AvalonBay Communities had a net margin of 33.56% and a return on equity of 7.98%. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.59 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts expect that AvalonBay Communities, Inc. will post 10.8 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AvalonBay Communities Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 28th were issued a dividend of $1.70 per share. This represents a $6.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.69%. This is a boost from AvalonBay Communities’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.65. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 27th. AvalonBay Communities’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 103.82%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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