AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB) Stake Boosted by Empowered Funds LLC

Empowered Funds LLC increased its position in shares of AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB) by 10.3% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,337 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after acquiring an additional 218 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC’s holdings in AvalonBay Communities were worth $526,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. CIBC Asset Management Inc increased its stake in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 8.4% during the 3rd quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 21,666 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $4,880,000 after purchasing an additional 1,679 shares during the last quarter. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC increased its position in AvalonBay Communities by 4.6% during the third quarter. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,244 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $280,000 after buying an additional 55 shares during the last quarter. Nicola Wealth Management LTD. raised its holdings in AvalonBay Communities by 10.5% during the third quarter. Nicola Wealth Management LTD. now owns 9,450 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $2,129,000 after buying an additional 900 shares in the last quarter. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its position in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 15.5% in the third quarter. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 4,118 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $928,000 after buying an additional 553 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Metis Global Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 19.0% during the 3rd quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC now owns 26,860 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $6,050,000 after acquiring an additional 4,286 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.61% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently commented on AVB shares. Piper Sandler raised their target price on AvalonBay Communities from $230.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Scotiabank decreased their price objective on AvalonBay Communities from $244.00 to $241.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, November 14th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price target on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $206.00 to $249.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 10th. Zelman & Associates upgraded shares of AvalonBay Communities to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 5th. Finally, BNP Paribas started coverage on shares of AvalonBay Communities in a research note on Wednesday, September 11th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $250.00 price objective on the stock. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $226.88.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Timothy J. Naughton sold 23,697 shares of the 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 sale, the director now owns 87,239 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $20,367,689.33. This represents a 21.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.42% of the company’s stock.

AvalonBay Communities Stock Up 0.6 %

Shares of NYSE AVB opened at $231.94 on Monday. AvalonBay Communities, Inc. has a 12-month low of $169.37 and a 12-month high of $236.26. The company has a current ratio of 1.64, a quick ratio of 1.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70. The stock has a market cap of $32.99 billion, a PE ratio of 31.73, a P/E/G ratio of 3.37 and a beta of 0.97. The company has a 50-day moving average of $226.36 and a 200 day moving average of $214.02.

AvalonBay Communities (NYSE:AVB) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The real estate investment trust reported $2.61 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.71 by ($0.10). The firm had revenue of $734.31 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $731.67 million. AvalonBay Communities had a net margin of 36.20% and a return on equity of 8.84%. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.66 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that AvalonBay Communities, Inc. will post 11.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AvalonBay Communities Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be given a $1.70 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 31st. This represents a $6.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.93%. AvalonBay Communities’s payout ratio is currently 93.02%.

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.