Virtu Financial LLC Buys Shares of 2,153 AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB)

Virtu Financial LLC bought a new position in AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 2,153 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock, valued at approximately $403,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of AVB. First Affirmative Financial Network boosted its position in AvalonBay Communities by 4.8% during the 4th quarter. First Affirmative Financial Network now owns 1,494 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $280,000 after acquiring an additional 69 shares during the period. Wealth Alliance grew its position in AvalonBay Communities by 5.8% during the fourth quarter. Wealth Alliance now owns 1,595 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $299,000 after purchasing an additional 88 shares in the last quarter. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in AvalonBay Communities by 4.2% in the 4th quarter. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,252 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $422,000 after buying an additional 91 shares during the period. Toroso Investments LLC lifted its position in AvalonBay Communities by 0.4% in the 3rd quarter. Toroso Investments LLC now owns 26,102 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $4,483,000 after buying an additional 97 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Stonegate Investment Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 4.1% during the 4th quarter. Stonegate Investment Group LLC now owns 2,498 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $468,000 after buying an additional 98 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.61% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on AvalonBay Communities from $191.00 to $196.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Monday, April 29th. Truist Financial raised their price objective on AvalonBay Communities from $197.00 to $207.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, May 24th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on AvalonBay Communities from $189.00 to $210.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, May 31st. Scotiabank lifted their price target on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $193.00 to $213.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 14th. Finally, Barclays increased their price objective on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $204.00 to $218.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, April 29th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $205.89.

AvalonBay Communities Stock Up 0.3 %

Shares of NYSE:AVB opened at $202.25 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.07, a current ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68. The firm has a market cap of $28.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.10, a P/E/G ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 0.94. AvalonBay Communities, Inc. has a 12 month low of $160.45 and a 12 month high of $203.00. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $193.28 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $185.34.

AvalonBay Communities (NYSE:AVB) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 26th. The real estate investment trust reported $1.22 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.64 by ($1.42). AvalonBay Communities had a net margin of 34.05% and a return on equity of 8.12%. The company had revenue of $712.86 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $706.61 million. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.57 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts forecast that AvalonBay Communities, Inc. will post 10.9 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AvalonBay Communities Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 28th will be paid a dividend of $1.70 per share. This represents a $6.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.36%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 28th. AvalonBay Communities’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 101.19%.

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.