Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund Reduces Position in AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB)

Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund lessened its stake in shares of AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB) by 7.5% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 4,681 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 378 shares during the period. Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund’s holdings in AvalonBay Communities were worth $869,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in AvalonBay Communities during the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,271,756,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 2.4% during the first quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 4,759,095 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $883,098,000 after purchasing an additional 109,585 shares during the last quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board raised its holdings in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 14.4% during the first quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 1,980,675 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $367,534,000 after purchasing an additional 249,400 shares during the last quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC increased its holdings in AvalonBay Communities by 0.5% in the first quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 1,847,511 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $342,824,000 after buying an additional 8,809 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 2.7% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,513,327 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $283,325,000 after purchasing an additional 39,348 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.61% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently commented on the stock. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $210.00 to $228.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 18th. Truist Financial boosted their target price on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $207.00 to $213.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, June 24th. Piper Sandler boosted their target price on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $207.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, April 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $194.00 to $212.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, June 17th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $210.00 to $222.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 27th. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $207.76.

AvalonBay Communities Trading Up 0.8 %

NYSE:AVB traded up $1.64 on Monday, hitting $208.12. The stock had a trading volume of 110,458 shares, compared to its average volume of 717,157. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $201.17 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $189.43. The stock has a market cap of $29.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.97, a PEG ratio of 3.01 and a beta of 0.96. AvalonBay Communities, Inc. has a 1-year low of $160.45 and a 1-year high of $211.20. The company has a quick ratio of 1.07, a current ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68.

AvalonBay Communities (NYSE:AVB) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 26th. The real estate investment trust reported $1.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.64 by ($1.42). The company had revenue of $712.86 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $706.61 million. AvalonBay Communities had a net margin of 34.05% and a return on equity of 8.12%. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.57 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that AvalonBay Communities, Inc. will post 10.92 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AvalonBay Communities Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 28th were paid a $1.70 dividend. This represents a $6.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.27%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 28th. AvalonBay Communities’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 101.19%.

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.