Signaturefd LLC Sells 345 Shares of AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB)

Signaturefd LLC decreased its holdings in shares of AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB) by 20.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,378 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 345 shares during the period. Signaturefd LLC’s holdings in AvalonBay Communities were worth $258,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in AVB. CWM LLC grew its position in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 18.3% during the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,453 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $249,000 after buying an additional 225 shares during the period. Czech National Bank increased its stake in AvalonBay Communities by 47.7% in the third quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 24,821 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $4,263,000 after purchasing an additional 8,012 shares in the last quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of AvalonBay Communities during the third quarter valued at about $230,000. Manning & Napier Group LLC boosted its position in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 67.0% during the 3rd quarter. Manning & Napier Group LLC now owns 56,388 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $9,684,000 after purchasing an additional 22,621 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sunesis Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of AvalonBay Communities in the 3rd quarter valued at about $599,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.61% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Morgan Stanley upgraded AvalonBay Communities from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $175.00 to $191.50 in a report on Monday, February 26th. Truist Financial reduced their price objective on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $201.00 to $197.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 9th. Mizuho dropped their price target on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $188.00 to $185.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 28th. KeyCorp reissued a “sector weight” rating on shares of AvalonBay Communities in a report on Friday, January 5th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and set a $185.00 target price on shares of AvalonBay Communities in a research report on Friday, February 2nd. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $196.78.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Joanne M. Lockridge sold 1,750 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 21,907 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,054,985.70. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other AvalonBay Communities news, CFO Kevin P. O’shea sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $185.65, for a total value of $928,250.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 31,308 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,812,330.20. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Joanne M. Lockridge sold 1,750 shares of AvalonBay Communities stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $185.10, for a total value of $323,925.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 21,907 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,054,985.70. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.42% of the company’s stock.

AvalonBay Communities Stock Up 0.1 %

AVB opened at $191.45 on Friday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $182.66 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $178.64. The company has a quick ratio of 1.44, a current ratio of 1.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68. AvalonBay Communities, Inc. has a twelve month low of $160.45 and a twelve month high of $198.65. The stock has a market cap of $27.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.23, a PEG ratio of 3.56 and a beta of 0.92.

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

AvalonBay Communities Increases Dividend

The firm 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. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 27th. This is an increase from AvalonBay Communities’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.65. This represents a $6.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.55%. AvalonBay Communities’s dividend payout ratio is 103.82%.

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.