AQR Capital Management LLC Has $14.42 Million Stake in AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB)

AQR Capital Management LLC lowered its stake in shares of AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB) by 0.2% during the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 70,174 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 148 shares during the quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC’s holdings in AvalonBay Communities were worth $14,424,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 2.4% during the 1st quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 4,759,095 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $883,098,000 after purchasing an additional 109,585 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in AvalonBay Communities by 0.7% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,074,269 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $429,145,000 after buying an additional 13,631 shares in the last quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board grew its stake in AvalonBay Communities by 14.4% during the first quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 1,980,675 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $367,534,000 after buying an additional 249,400 shares in the last quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC increased its holdings in AvalonBay Communities by 0.5% in the 1st quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 1,847,511 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $342,824,000 after buying an additional 8,809 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its position in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 11.9% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,183,121 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $244,776,000 after buying an additional 126,055 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.61% of the company’s stock.

AvalonBay Communities Stock Performance

Shares of AVB stock opened at $222.19 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $31.59 billion, a PE ratio of 33.06, a PEG ratio of 3.55 and a beta of 0.97. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $219.86 and its 200 day simple moving average is $203.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 2.03 and a quick ratio of 2.03. AvalonBay Communities, Inc. has a one year low of $160.45 and a one year high of $236.26.

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

AvalonBay Communities Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 30th will be paid a $1.70 dividend. This represents a $6.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.06%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 30th. AvalonBay Communities’s dividend payout ratio is 101.19%.

Insider Activity at AvalonBay Communities

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

AVB has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $222.00 to $244.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, August 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on AvalonBay Communities from $212.00 to $247.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Truist Financial upped their price objective on AvalonBay Communities from $213.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 27th. BNP Paribas assumed coverage on AvalonBay Communities in a research report on Wednesday, September 11th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $250.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Piper Sandler increased their target price on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $230.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, AvalonBay Communities has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $223.12.

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.