Hilltop National Bank Has $884,000 Position in AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB)

Hilltop National Bank grew its position in shares of AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB) by 10.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 4,018 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after purchasing an additional 375 shares during the quarter. Hilltop National Bank’s holdings in AvalonBay Communities were worth $884,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in AvalonBay Communities by 2.2% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 9,245,028 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $2,097,971,000 after acquiring an additional 196,938 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its stake in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 1.4% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 4,060,497 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $914,627,000 after purchasing an additional 55,588 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 0.8% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,585,802 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $805,113,000 after buying an additional 27,988 shares during the period. 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 buying an additional 78,800 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in AvalonBay Communities by 0.7% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,074,269 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $429,145,000 after buying an additional 13,631 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.61% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently commented on AVB shares. Evercore ISI raised their price objective 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. Barclays started coverage on shares of AvalonBay Communities in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $243.00 price objective on the stock. Scotiabank decreased their target price on 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. Mizuho upgraded AvalonBay Communities from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $239.00 to $242.00 in a report on Monday. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price objective on AvalonBay Communities from $234.00 to $233.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $234.53.

AvalonBay Communities Stock Performance

Shares of AVB traded up $0.72 on Friday, reaching $213.09. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 223,708 shares, compared to its average volume of 426,856. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $225.46 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $220.09. 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 $30.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.15, a PEG ratio of 3.30 and a beta of 0.99. AvalonBay Communities, Inc. has a 12-month low of $169.37 and a 12-month high of $239.29.

AvalonBay Communities (NYSE:AVB) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 business had revenue of $734.31 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $731.67 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.66 EPS. Research analysts forecast that AvalonBay Communities, Inc. will post 11.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AvalonBay Communities Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be paid a $1.70 dividend. This represents a $6.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.19%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 31st. AvalonBay Communities’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 93.02%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Timothy J. Naughton sold 23,697 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $233.47, for a total value of $5,532,538.59. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 87,239 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $20,367,689.33. This represents a 21.36 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 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.