Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB Takes $126,000 Position in AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB)

Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new position in shares of AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB) during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 561 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock, valued at approximately $126,000.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Segment Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in AvalonBay Communities by 4.6% during the 3rd quarter. Segment Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,025 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $231,000 after purchasing an additional 45 shares in the last quarter. SYSTM Wealth Solutions LLC boosted its position in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 2.7% during the second quarter. SYSTM Wealth Solutions LLC now owns 1,855 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $386,000 after buying an additional 49 shares during the period. Patrick M Sweeney & Associates Inc. grew its holdings in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 4.1% during the third quarter. Patrick M Sweeney & Associates Inc. now owns 1,268 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $286,000 after buying an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. Tectonic Advisors LLC raised its position in AvalonBay Communities by 2.7% in the 3rd quarter. Tectonic Advisors LLC now owns 1,934 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $436,000 after buying an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. Finally, OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC raised its position in AvalonBay Communities by 4.6% in the 3rd quarter. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,244 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $280,000 after buying an additional 55 shares during the last quarter. 92.61% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

AvalonBay Communities Stock Down 1.2 %

AVB stock opened at $217.16 on Friday. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $227.55 and its 200 day simple moving average is $218.11. AvalonBay Communities, Inc. has a 1-year low of $169.37 and a 1-year high of $239.29. The firm has a market capitalization of $30.89 billion, a PE ratio of 29.71, a PEG ratio of 3.30 and a beta of 0.98. The company has a current ratio of 1.64, a quick ratio of 1.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70.

AvalonBay Communities (NYSE:AVB) last released its quarterly earnings data 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). The company had revenue of $734.31 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $731.67 million. AvalonBay Communities had a net margin of 36.20% and a return on equity of 8.84%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.66 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts anticipate that AvalonBay Communities, Inc. will post 11.03 EPS for the current year.

AvalonBay Communities Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be given 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 3.13%. AvalonBay Communities’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 93.02%.

Insider Transactions at AvalonBay Communities

In other AvalonBay Communities news, Director Timothy J. Naughton sold 2,261 shares of the 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 transaction, the director now owns 111,436 shares in the company, valued at $26,051,508.08. This trade represents a 1.99 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.48% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the company. BNP Paribas started coverage on AvalonBay Communities in a research report on Wednesday, September 11th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $250.00 price target for the company. Truist Financial increased their target price on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $213.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 27th. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price target on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $234.00 to $233.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Scotiabank cut 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 report on Thursday, November 14th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded AvalonBay Communities from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $247.00 to $262.00 in a report on Tuesday. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, AvalonBay Communities presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $231.33.

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.