PNC Financial Services Group Inc. Buys 3,920 Shares of AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB)

PNC Financial Services Group Inc. increased its position in shares of AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB) by 25.6% in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 19,205 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after buying an additional 3,920 shares during the period. PNC Financial Services Group Inc.’s holdings in AvalonBay Communities were worth $4,326,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Acadian Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in AvalonBay Communities during the first quarter worth $95,000. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 51.6% in the 1st quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC now owns 4,476 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $831,000 after buying an additional 1,523 shares during the last quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. raised its holdings in AvalonBay Communities by 52.0% in the 1st quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 1,595 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $296,000 after purchasing an additional 546 shares during the period. Lazard Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in AvalonBay Communities by 52.3% in the 1st quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 8,116 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $1,505,000 after purchasing an additional 2,786 shares during the period. Finally, SVB Wealth LLC raised its holdings in AvalonBay Communities by 1.1% in the 1st quarter. SVB Wealth LLC now owns 5,529 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $1,026,000 after purchasing an additional 62 shares during the period. 92.61% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

AvalonBay Communities Price Performance

NYSE AVB opened at $231.94 on Monday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $226.36 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $214.02. The company has a quick ratio of 1.64, a current ratio of 1.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70. AvalonBay Communities, Inc. has a 12-month low of $169.37 and a 12-month high of $236.26. The stock has a market capitalization of $32.99 billion, a PE ratio of 31.73, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.37 and a beta of 0.97.

AvalonBay Communities (NYSE:AVB) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 4th. The real estate investment trust reported $2.61 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.71 by ($0.10). AvalonBay Communities had a return on equity of 8.84% and a net margin of 36.20%. The firm had revenue of $734.31 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $731.67 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.66 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that AvalonBay Communities, Inc. will post 11.03 earnings per share 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. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be paid a $1.70 dividend. This represents a $6.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.93%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 31st. AvalonBay Communities’s payout ratio is 93.02%.

Insider Transactions at AvalonBay Communities

In related news, Director Timothy J. Naughton sold 2,261 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $233.78, for a total transaction of $528,576.58. Following the transaction, the director now owns 111,436 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $26,051,508.08. The trade was a 1.99 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.42% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on AVB. Truist Financial raised their price objective on AvalonBay Communities from $213.00 to $230.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 27th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price objective on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $206.00 to $249.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 10th. Zelman & Associates raised shares of AvalonBay Communities to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 5th. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price objective on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $234.00 to $233.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Finally, Piper Sandler boosted 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. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $226.88.

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.