Greenleaf Trust Purchases 160 Shares of AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB)

Greenleaf Trust increased its position in shares of AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB) by 5.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,982 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after acquiring an additional 160 shares during the quarter. Greenleaf Trust’s holdings in AvalonBay Communities were worth $558,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its stake in AvalonBay Communities by 17.4% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,298,186 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $394,690,000 after purchasing an additional 341,332 shares in the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB increased its stake in AvalonBay Communities by 2,140.1% during the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 213,727 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $40,347,000 after purchasing an additional 204,186 shares in the last quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. increased its stake in AvalonBay Communities by 118.4% during the 3rd quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 318,026 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $54,618,000 after purchasing an additional 172,418 shares in the last quarter. Deutsche Bank AG increased its stake in AvalonBay Communities by 6.5% during the 3rd quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 2,496,671 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $428,778,000 after purchasing an additional 151,995 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp increased its stake in AvalonBay Communities by 5.9% during the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 2,278,363 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $391,286,000 after purchasing an additional 126,288 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.61% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have issued reports on AVB shares. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and set a $185.00 price target on shares of AvalonBay Communities in a research note on Friday, February 2nd. Truist Financial cut their price target on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $201.00 to $197.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 9th. KeyCorp restated a “sector weight” rating on shares of AvalonBay Communities in a research note on Friday, January 5th. Barclays upgraded shares of AvalonBay Communities from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $194.00 to $204.00 in a research note on Tuesday, February 20th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $191.00 price objective on shares of AvalonBay Communities in a research note on Thursday, February 22nd. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $196.78.

AvalonBay Communities Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE AVB opened at $186.87 on Tuesday. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $181.41 and its 200 day moving average price is $178.22. AvalonBay Communities, Inc. has a 1 year low of $160.45 and a 1 year high of $198.65. The company has a market capitalization of $26.57 billion, a PE ratio of 28.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.43 and a beta of 0.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 1.44 and a current ratio of 1.44.

AvalonBay Communities (NYSE:AVB) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 6th. The real estate investment trust reported $1.70 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.73 by ($1.03). AvalonBay Communities had a return on equity of 7.98% and a net margin of 33.56%. The firm had revenue of $704.71 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $701.67 million. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.59 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that AvalonBay Communities, Inc. will post 10.8 earnings per share for the current year.

AvalonBay Communities Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 28th were issued a dividend of $1.70 per share. This represents a $6.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.64%. This is an increase from AvalonBay Communities’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.65. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 27th. AvalonBay Communities’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 103.82%.

Insider Buying and Selling at AvalonBay Communities

In other AvalonBay Communities news, EVP Joanne M. Lockridge sold 1,750 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $185.10, for a total transaction of $323,925.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 21,907 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,054,985.70. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other AvalonBay Communities news, EVP Joanne M. Lockridge sold 1,750 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $185.10, for a total transaction of $323,925.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 21,907 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,054,985.70. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Kevin P. O’shea sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, March 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $185.65, for a total transaction of $928,250.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 31,308 shares in the company, valued at $5,812,330.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.48% of the company’s stock.

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.