AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB) Shares Sold by HighTower Advisors LLC

HighTower Advisors LLC reduced its position in AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB) by 2.0% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 22,270 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 448 shares during the quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC’s holdings in AvalonBay Communities were worth $5,015,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. CWM LLC lifted its stake in AvalonBay Communities by 6.9% during the second quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,564 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $324,000 after purchasing an additional 101 shares during the last quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 8.1% in the 2nd quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 2,183 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $452,000 after buying an additional 164 shares during the last quarter. Diversified Trust Co acquired a new position in shares of AvalonBay Communities in the 2nd quarter valued at about $1,139,000. PGGM Investments grew its position in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 24.7% during the 2nd quarter. PGGM Investments now owns 5,682 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $1,176,000 after buying an additional 1,127 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. raised its stake in AvalonBay Communities by 2.3% during the second quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 5,248 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $1,086,000 after acquiring an additional 117 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 92.61% of the company’s stock.

AvalonBay Communities Price Performance

Shares of NYSE AVB opened at $224.95 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $226.79 and a two-hundred day moving average of $216.66. The company has a market capitalization of $32.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.79, a PEG ratio of 3.31 and a beta of 0.98. The company has a current ratio of 1.64, a quick ratio of 1.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70. AvalonBay Communities, Inc. has a twelve month low of $169.37 and a twelve month high of $239.29.

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 the consensus estimate of $2.71 by ($0.10). AvalonBay Communities had a return on equity of 8.84% and a net margin of 36.20%. The business had revenue of $734.31 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $731.67 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.66 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that AvalonBay Communities, Inc. will post 11.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AvalonBay Communities Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be issued a dividend of $1.70 per share. This represents a $6.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.02%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 31st. AvalonBay Communities’s dividend payout ratio is 93.02%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have commented on AVB shares. Scotiabank decreased their target price on AvalonBay Communities from $244.00 to $241.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, November 14th. 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 note on Tuesday, August 27th. Royal Bank of Canada cut their target price on AvalonBay Communities from $234.00 to $233.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Evercore ISI upped their price target on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $225.00 to $229.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Finally, 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 report on Monday, August 26th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, AvalonBay Communities currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $228.67.

Insider Activity at AvalonBay Communities

In other AvalonBay Communities news, Director Timothy J. Naughton sold 23,697 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the director now directly owns 87,239 shares in the company, valued at $20,367,689.33. This trade represents a 21.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 0.42% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

AvalonBay Communities 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.