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 AvalonBay Communities stock in a transaction on Monday, November 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $233.78, for a total value of $528,576.58. Following the transaction, the director now owns 111,436 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $26,051,508.08. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link.

AvalonBay Communities Trading Up 1.3 %

Shares of AVB stock traded up $2.90 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $233.11. 483,556 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 727,136. AvalonBay Communities, Inc. has a 12-month low of $166.60 and a 12-month high of $236.26. The company has a current ratio of 2.03, a quick ratio of 2.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $226.11 and its 200-day moving average price is $211.90. The firm has a market capitalization of $33.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.36 and a beta of 0.97.

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 analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.71 by ($0.10). The company had revenue of $734.31 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $731.67 million. AvalonBay Communities had a return on equity of 8.84% and a net margin of 36.20%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.66 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that AvalonBay Communities, Inc. will post 11.04 earnings per share for the current year.

AvalonBay Communities Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Investors of record on Monday, September 30th were given a $1.70 dividend. This represents a $6.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.92%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 30th. AvalonBay Communities’s payout ratio is 93.02%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On AvalonBay Communities

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Townsquare Capital LLC lifted its holdings in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 42.0% in the 3rd quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC now owns 4,900 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $1,104,000 after acquiring an additional 1,450 shares during the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its stake in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 54.8% during the third quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 259,531 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $58,459,000 after purchasing an additional 91,861 shares in the last quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group acquired a new position in AvalonBay Communities during the third quarter worth about $39,000. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company raised its stake in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 2.5% in the 3rd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 112,392 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $25,316,000 after acquiring an additional 2,702 shares during the period. Finally, Capital Square LLC increased its stake in AvalonBay Communities by 26.9% during the 3rd quarter. Capital Square LLC now owns 3,067 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $691,000 after buying an additional 650 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.61% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AVB has been the subject of several analyst reports. Truist Financial increased their price objective on AvalonBay Communities from $213.00 to $230.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 27th. Evercore ISI raised their price objective on AvalonBay Communities from $225.00 to $229.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a report on Monday, September 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on AvalonBay Communities from $212.00 to $247.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, September 16th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price objective on AvalonBay Communities from $206.00 to $249.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 10th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price objective on AvalonBay Communities from $234.00 to $233.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $227.06.

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.