Daiwa Securities Group Inc. Raises Holdings in AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB)

Daiwa Securities Group Inc. grew its stake in AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB) by 1.6% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 365,384 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after buying an additional 5,910 shares during the quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc.’s holdings in AvalonBay Communities were worth $82,303,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Acadian Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of AvalonBay Communities in the 1st quarter valued at $95,000. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 51.6% during the 1st quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC now owns 4,476 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $831,000 after acquiring an additional 1,523 shares in the last quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. grew its position in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 52.0% during the 1st quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 1,595 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $296,000 after acquiring an additional 546 shares during the period. Lazard Asset Management LLC increased its stake in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 52.3% in the 1st quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 8,116 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $1,505,000 after purchasing an additional 2,786 shares in the last quarter. Finally, SVB Wealth LLC raised its holdings in AvalonBay Communities by 1.1% in the 1st quarter. SVB Wealth LLC now owns 5,529 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $1,026,000 after purchasing an additional 62 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.61% of the company’s stock.

AvalonBay Communities Trading Up 0.6 %

AVB opened at $231.94 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $32.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.73, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.37 and a beta of 0.97. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $226.36 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $213.89. AvalonBay Communities, Inc. has a 1-year low of $169.37 and a 1-year high of $236.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a current ratio of 1.64 and a quick ratio of 1.64.

AvalonBay Communities (NYSE:AVB) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 4th. The real estate investment trust reported $2.61 EPS 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 analysts’ expectations 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 previous year, the business posted $2.66 EPS. Analysts expect that AvalonBay Communities, Inc. will post 11.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AvalonBay Communities Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be given a dividend of $1.70 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 31st. This represents a $6.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.93%. AvalonBay Communities’s payout ratio is 93.02%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the company. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on AvalonBay Communities from $222.00 to $244.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, August 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on AvalonBay Communities from $212.00 to $247.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, September 16th. BNP Paribas began coverage on shares of AvalonBay Communities in a report on Wednesday, September 11th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $250.00 price target for the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price objective on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $206.00 to $249.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 10th. Finally, Zelman & Associates raised shares of AvalonBay Communities to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 5th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, AvalonBay Communities presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $226.88.

Insider Activity at AvalonBay Communities

In other news, Director Timothy J. Naughton sold 2,261 shares of AvalonBay Communities stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $233.78, for a total transaction of $528,576.58. Following the sale, the director now owns 111,436 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $26,051,508.08. The trade was a 1.99 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 0.42% of the stock is currently owned by 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.