AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB) Shares Sold by Atom Investors LP

Atom Investors LP cut its holdings in AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB) by 37.9% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 18,030 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 11,024 shares during the quarter. Atom Investors LP’s holdings in AvalonBay Communities were worth $4,061,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Kestra Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of AvalonBay Communities in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $495,000. Erste Asset Management GmbH purchased a new stake in shares of AvalonBay Communities during the third quarter valued at $1,757,000. Edgestream Partners L.P. increased its position in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 14.4% in the 3rd quarter. Edgestream Partners L.P. now owns 20,018 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $4,509,000 after acquiring an additional 2,513 shares during the period. Eventide Asset Management LLC raised its stake in AvalonBay Communities by 27.9% in the 3rd quarter. Eventide Asset Management LLC now owns 152,408 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $34,330,000 after acquiring an additional 33,230 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Martingale Asset Management L P lifted its position in AvalonBay Communities by 150.4% during the 3rd quarter. Martingale Asset Management L P now owns 33,550 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $7,557,000 after acquiring an additional 20,149 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.61% of the company’s stock.

AvalonBay Communities Stock Performance

AVB opened at $235.35 on Monday. AvalonBay Communities, Inc. has a twelve month low of $169.37 and a twelve month high of $239.29. The firm has a market capitalization of $33.48 billion, a PE ratio of 32.20, a PEG ratio of 3.44 and a beta of 0.97. The company has a current ratio of 1.64, a quick ratio of 1.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $226.85 and its 200 day moving average price is $215.37.

AvalonBay Communities (NYSE:AVB) last posted 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 net margin of 36.20% and a return on equity of 8.84%. The company had revenue of $734.31 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $731.67 million. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.66 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that AvalonBay Communities, Inc. will post 11.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AvalonBay Communities Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be issued 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 2.89%. AvalonBay Communities’s dividend payout ratio is presently 93.02%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on AVB. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price objective on AvalonBay Communities from $234.00 to $233.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their target price on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $206.00 to $249.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 10th. Scotiabank cut their price target on AvalonBay Communities from $244.00 to $241.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, November 14th. 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. Finally, Zelman & Associates raised AvalonBay Communities to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, September 5th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $228.67.

Insider Activity

In other AvalonBay Communities news, Director Timothy J. Naughton sold 2,261 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 sale, the director now owns 111,436 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $26,051,508.08. This trade represents a 1.99 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.42% of the company’s stock.

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.