Van ECK Associates Corp Boosts Holdings in AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB)

Van ECK Associates Corp grew its stake in shares of AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB - Free Report) by 11.5% in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 65,826 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after purchasing an additional 6,811 shares during the quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp's holdings in AvalonBay Communities were worth $15,110,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC grew its stake 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 worth $11,523,000 after purchasing an additional 1,152 shares in the last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 36.9% in the 3rd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 1,139 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $256,000 after buying an additional 307 shares during the period. Lebenthal Global Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 18.0% during the 3rd quarter. Lebenthal Global Advisors LLC now owns 1,879 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $423,000 after buying an additional 286 shares in the last quarter. US Bancorp DE increased its stake in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 0.4% during the third quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 19,431 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $4,377,000 after buying an additional 77 shares during the period. Finally, First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. increased its stake in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 34.3% during the third quarter. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. now owns 5,691 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $1,282,000 after buying an additional 1,454 shares during the period. 92.61% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

AvalonBay Communities Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:AVB traded down $1.45 on Wednesday, hitting $224.93. 854,699 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 730,283. The firm has a market capitalization of $31.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.29 and a beta of 0.97. The company has a current ratio of 2.03, a quick ratio of 2.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71. AvalonBay Communities, Inc. has a 1-year low of $164.76 and a 1-year high of $236.26. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $225.66 and its 200 day moving average price is $210.60.

AvalonBay Communities (NYSE:AVB - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The real estate investment trust reported $2.61 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $2.71 by ($0.10). AvalonBay Communities had a return on equity of 7.16% and a net margin of 29.61%. The firm had revenue of $734.31 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $731.67 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.66 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that AvalonBay Communities, Inc. will post 11.01 EPS for the current year.

AvalonBay Communities Announces Dividend

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 dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 93.02%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have issued reports on AVB shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their target price on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $206.00 to $249.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, September 10th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on AvalonBay Communities from $222.00 to $244.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, August 26th. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on AvalonBay Communities from $225.00 to $229.00 and gave the company an "in-line" rating in a report on Monday, September 16th. UBS Group upped their price objective on AvalonBay Communities from $210.00 to $228.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 18th. Finally, Piper Sandler raised their price objective on AvalonBay Communities from $230.00 to $255.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price 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.