Gratus Wealth Advisors LLC Boosts Holdings in AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB)

Gratus Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB) by 25.7% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,300 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after acquiring an additional 266 shares during the quarter. Gratus Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in AvalonBay Communities were worth $283,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of AVB. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of AvalonBay Communities in the second quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Versant Capital Management Inc raised its position in AvalonBay Communities by 1,877.8% in the 2nd quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 178 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 169 shares during the last quarter. BROOKFIELD Corp ON acquired a new stake in AvalonBay Communities during the 1st quarter worth $39,000. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. grew its position in AvalonBay Communities by 50.0% during the 1st quarter. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. now owns 225 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mather Group LLC. increased its stake in AvalonBay Communities by 38.6% in the third quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 201 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $45,000 after purchasing an additional 56 shares during the period. 92.61% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CIO Matthew H. Birenbaum sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $208.90, for a total value of $1,044,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive now owns 65,967 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,780,506.30. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, CIO Matthew H. Birenbaum sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $208.90, for a total transaction of $1,044,500.00. Following the sale, the executive now directly owns 65,967 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,780,506.30. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Keri A. Shea sold 2,000 shares of AvalonBay Communities stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $207.17, for a total transaction of $414,340.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 4,383 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $908,026.11. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.42% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

AvalonBay Communities Price Performance

AVB stock opened at $218.50 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $31.07 billion, a PE ratio of 32.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.55 and a beta of 0.97. The company has a current ratio of 2.03, a quick ratio of 2.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $221.04 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $204.46. AvalonBay Communities, Inc. has a 12-month low of $160.45 and a 12-month high of $236.26.

AvalonBay Communities (NYSE:AVB) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The real estate investment trust reported $1.78 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.71 by ($0.93). The business had revenue of $726.04 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $718.49 million. AvalonBay Communities had a net margin of 29.61% and a return on equity of 7.16%. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.66 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that AvalonBay Communities, Inc. will post 11.01 EPS for the current year.

AvalonBay Communities Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 30th will be paid a dividend of $1.70 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 30th. This represents a $6.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.11%. AvalonBay Communities’s dividend payout ratio is presently 101.19%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently commented on AVB. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on AvalonBay Communities from $207.00 to $214.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. UBS Group upped their price objective on AvalonBay Communities from $210.00 to $228.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, July 18th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their target price on AvalonBay Communities from $206.00 to $249.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 10th. Scotiabank lifted their price target on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $229.00 to $244.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Finally, BNP Paribas started coverage on AvalonBay Communities in a research report on Wednesday, September 11th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $250.00 price target for the company. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $225.88.

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.