Swedbank AB Has $7.84 Million Stake in AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB)

Swedbank AB increased its holdings in AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB) by 46.6% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 34,791 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after purchasing an additional 11,064 shares during the period. Swedbank AB’s holdings in AvalonBay Communities were worth $7,837,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Acadian Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in AvalonBay Communities during the first quarter valued at approximately $95,000. Lazard Asset Management LLC grew its stake in 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 buying an additional 2,786 shares during the last quarter. Caxton Associates LP bought a new position in AvalonBay Communities in the 1st quarter worth $413,000. Tidal Investments LLC lifted its position in AvalonBay Communities by 36.5% during the 1st quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 37,638 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $6,984,000 after acquiring an additional 10,057 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Plato Investment Management Ltd boosted its holdings in AvalonBay Communities by 863.7% during the first quarter. Plato Investment Management Ltd now owns 3,315 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $615,000 after acquiring an additional 2,971 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.61% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at AvalonBay Communities

In other news, Director Timothy J. Naughton sold 23,697 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $233.47, for a total value of $5,532,538.59. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly 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 filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Company insiders own 0.48% of the company’s stock.

AvalonBay Communities Price Performance

Shares of AVB stock opened at $235.45 on Wednesday. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $226.45 and its 200 day simple moving average is $214.54. AvalonBay Communities, Inc. has a one year low of $169.37 and a one year high of $236.49. The firm has a market cap of $33.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.21, a P/E/G ratio of 3.39 and a beta of 0.97. 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 issued its earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The real estate investment trust reported $2.61 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.71 by ($0.10). AvalonBay Communities had a net margin of 36.20% and a return on equity of 8.84%. The firm had revenue of $734.31 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $731.67 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.66 EPS. On average, analysts expect that AvalonBay Communities, Inc. will post 11.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AvalonBay Communities Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed 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 of this dividend is Tuesday, December 31st. This represents a $6.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.89%. AvalonBay Communities’s dividend payout ratio is 93.02%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on AVB shares. Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on AvalonBay Communities from $230.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. BNP Paribas started coverage on AvalonBay Communities in a report on Wednesday, September 11th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $250.00 price target for the company. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their target price on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $234.00 to $233.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Scotiabank cut their target price on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $244.00 to $241.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, November 14th. Finally, Evercore ISI raised their price target 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 investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $226.88.

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.