First Affirmative Financial Network Has $209,000 Stock Holdings in AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB)

First Affirmative Financial Network trimmed its stake in shares of AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB) by 24.7% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,125 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 369 shares during the quarter. First Affirmative Financial Network’s holdings in AvalonBay Communities were worth $209,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Norges Bank bought a new stake in AvalonBay Communities during the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,271,756,000. Deutsche Bank AG grew its holdings in AvalonBay Communities by 6.5% during the 3rd quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 2,496,671 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $428,778,000 after acquiring an additional 151,995 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its holdings in AvalonBay Communities by 17.4% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,298,186 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $394,690,000 after acquiring an additional 341,332 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp grew its holdings in AvalonBay Communities by 5.9% during the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 2,278,363 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $391,286,000 after acquiring an additional 126,288 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Clearbridge Investments LLC grew its holdings in AvalonBay Communities by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 1,838,702 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $344,242,000 after acquiring an additional 25,625 shares during the last quarter. 92.61% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have weighed in on AVB. Scotiabank boosted their target price on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $193.00 to $213.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 14th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $189.00 to $210.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, May 31st. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $203.00 to $209.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 14th. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $199.00 to $210.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 14th. Finally, Truist Financial upped their price objective on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $197.00 to $207.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, May 24th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, AvalonBay Communities currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $205.89.

AvalonBay Communities Stock Performance

Shares of AVB stock opened at $203.89 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $194.33 and a 200-day moving average of $185.83. The company has a market cap of $28.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.34, a P/E/G ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 0.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 1.07 and a quick ratio of 1.07. AvalonBay Communities, Inc. has a one year low of $160.45 and a one year high of $204.21.

AvalonBay Communities (NYSE:AVB) last announced its 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). The firm had revenue of $712.86 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $706.61 million. AvalonBay Communities had a net margin of 34.05% and a return on equity of 8.12%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.57 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that AvalonBay Communities, Inc. will post 10.91 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AvalonBay Communities Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 15th. Investors of record on Friday, June 28th will be given a dividend of $1.70 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 28th. This represents a $6.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.34%. AvalonBay Communities’s payout ratio is currently 101.19%.

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.