State Street Corp Acquires 196,938 Shares of AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB)

State Street Corp raised its holdings in shares of AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB) by 2.2% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 9,245,028 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after purchasing an additional 196,938 shares during the quarter. State Street Corp owned 6.50% of AvalonBay Communities worth $2,097,971,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. &PARTNERS purchased a new position in shares of AvalonBay Communities in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $1,538,000. American Assets Capital Advisers LLC purchased a new position in AvalonBay Communities during the third quarter worth $1,014,000. Diversified Trust Co purchased a new position in AvalonBay Communities during the second quarter worth $1,139,000. Cetera Investment Advisers increased its position in AvalonBay Communities by 153.3% during the first quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 17,564 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $3,259,000 after acquiring an additional 10,629 shares during the last quarter. Finally, 1832 Asset Management L.P. raised its stake in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 5.6% in the second quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. now owns 63,174 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $13,070,000 after acquiring an additional 3,350 shares during the period. 92.61% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on AVB shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on AvalonBay Communities from $212.00 to $247.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, September 16th. Zelman & Associates raised shares of AvalonBay Communities to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 5th. Scotiabank reduced their price target on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $244.00 to $241.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, November 14th. Truist Financial boosted their price objective on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $213.00 to $230.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 27th. Finally, Evercore ISI raised their target price on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $225.00 to $229.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $228.67.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Timothy J. Naughton sold 23,697 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $233.47, for a total transaction of $5,532,538.59. Following the sale, the director now owns 87,239 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,367,689.33. This trade represents a 21.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.42% of the company’s stock.

AvalonBay Communities Price Performance

AvalonBay Communities stock opened at $226.40 on Friday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $226.73 and a 200-day simple moving average of $215.97. AvalonBay Communities, Inc. has a 12 month low of $169.37 and a 12 month high of $239.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a current ratio of 1.64 and a quick ratio of 1.64. The stock has a market capitalization of $32.20 billion, a PE ratio of 30.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.34 and a beta of 0.98.

AvalonBay Communities (NYSE:AVB) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The real estate investment trust reported $2.61 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.71 by ($0.10). AvalonBay Communities had a return on equity of 8.84% and a net margin of 36.20%. The firm had revenue of $734.31 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $731.67 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.66 earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that AvalonBay Communities, Inc. will post 11.03 earnings per share for the current year.

AvalonBay Communities Announces Dividend

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 paid a dividend of $1.70 per share. This represents a $6.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.00%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 31st. AvalonBay Communities’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 93.02%.

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.