QRG Capital Management Inc. Grows Position in AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB)

QRG Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB) by 101.0% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 16,383 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after acquiring an additional 8,234 shares during the quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in AvalonBay Communities were worth $3,690,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. National Pension Service increased its position in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 9.8% in the 3rd quarter. National Pension Service now owns 212,409 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $47,845,000 after purchasing an additional 18,888 shares during the last quarter. Intact Investment Management Inc. grew its position in AvalonBay Communities by 8.0% in the 3rd quarter. Intact Investment Management Inc. now owns 31,100 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $7,005,000 after buying an additional 2,300 shares during the last quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. grew its holdings in AvalonBay Communities by 12.2% during the third quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 336,587 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $75,816,000 after acquiring an additional 36,732 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp raised its position in AvalonBay Communities by 11.5% in the third quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 65,826 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $15,110,000 after acquiring an additional 6,811 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Janney Montgomery Scott LLC lifted its holdings in AvalonBay Communities by 2.3% in the third quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 51,154 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $11,523,000 after acquiring an additional 1,152 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.61% of the company’s stock.

AvalonBay Communities Stock Performance

Shares of AVB stock opened at $224.93 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $31.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.29 and a beta of 0.97. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $225.66 and a 200 day moving average price of $210.60. AvalonBay Communities, Inc. has a one year low of $164.76 and a one year high of $236.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a quick ratio of 2.03 and a current ratio of 2.03.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.71 by ($0.10). The firm had revenue of $734.31 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $731.67 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 posted $2.66 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that AvalonBay Communities, Inc. will post 11.01 EPS for the current year.

AvalonBay Communities Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Investors of record on Monday, September 30th were issued a $1.70 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 30th. This represents a $6.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.02%. AvalonBay Communities’s payout ratio is 93.02%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on AVB shares. Piper Sandler lifted their price target on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $230.00 to $255.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Truist Financial boosted their target price on AvalonBay Communities from $213.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 27th. UBS Group lifted their price target on AvalonBay Communities from $210.00 to $228.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 18th. Zelman & Associates upgraded shares of AvalonBay Communities to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 5th. Finally, BNP Paribas initiated coverage on shares of AvalonBay Communities in a report on Wednesday, September 11th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $250.00 target price for the company. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $227.06.

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.