Eventide Asset Management LLC Boosts Stock Holdings in AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB)

Eventide Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB) by 27.9% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 152,408 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after purchasing an additional 33,230 shares during the period. Eventide Asset Management LLC’s holdings in AvalonBay Communities were worth $34,330,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in AvalonBay Communities by 3.6% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,240,436 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $504,658,000 after purchasing an additional 78,800 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in AvalonBay Communities by 0.7% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,074,269 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $429,145,000 after purchasing an additional 13,631 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its stake in AvalonBay Communities by 678.9% during the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 1,715,050 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $386,315,000 after purchasing an additional 1,494,872 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its stake in AvalonBay Communities by 11.9% during the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,183,121 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $244,776,000 after purchasing an additional 126,055 shares during the period. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. raised its stake in AvalonBay Communities by 6.2% during the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 461,937 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $95,570,000 after purchasing an additional 26,859 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.61% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on AVB shares. BNP Paribas started coverage on shares of AvalonBay Communities in a research note on Wednesday, September 11th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $250.00 price target on the stock. Piper Sandler increased their price objective on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $230.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price objective on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $234.00 to $233.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $212.00 to $247.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Finally, Scotiabank dropped their price objective on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $244.00 to $241.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, November 14th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $226.88.

AvalonBay Communities Stock Performance

Shares of AvalonBay Communities stock opened at $237.81 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a quick ratio of 1.64 and a current ratio of 1.64. AvalonBay Communities, Inc. has a 1 year low of $169.37 and a 1 year high of $239.29. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $226.74 and its 200-day simple moving average is $214.87. The firm has a market cap of $33.83 billion, a PE ratio of 32.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.47 and a beta of 0.97.

AvalonBay Communities (NYSE:AVB) last released its earnings results 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 firm had revenue of $734.31 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $731.67 million. AvalonBay Communities had a return on equity of 8.84% and a net margin of 36.20%. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.66 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that AvalonBay Communities, Inc. will post 11.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AvalonBay Communities Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be paid a dividend of $1.70 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 31st. This represents a $6.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.86%. AvalonBay Communities’s payout ratio is 93.02%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Timothy J. Naughton sold 2,261 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $233.78, for a total transaction of $528,576.58. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 111,436 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $26,051,508.08. This represents a 1.99 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.42% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.