Adelante Capital Management LLC Reduces Stock Position in AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB)

Adelante Capital Management LLC cut its stake in shares of AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB - Free Report) by 91.9% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 31,128 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after selling 354,002 shares during the quarter. Adelante Capital Management LLC's holdings in AvalonBay Communities were worth $7,012,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in AVB. Edgestream Partners L.P. grew its holdings in AvalonBay Communities by 14.4% during the third quarter. Edgestream Partners L.P. now owns 20,018 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $4,509,000 after acquiring an additional 2,513 shares during the period. Eventide Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in AvalonBay Communities by 27.9% in the third quarter. Eventide Asset Management LLC now owns 152,408 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $34,330,000 after purchasing an additional 33,230 shares during the period. Martingale Asset Management L P raised its stake in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 150.4% during the 3rd quarter. Martingale Asset Management L P now owns 33,550 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $7,557,000 after buying an additional 20,149 shares during the period. Vinva Investment Management Ltd lifted its holdings in AvalonBay Communities by 76.4% during the third quarter. Vinva Investment Management Ltd now owns 9,969 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $2,245,000 after purchasing an additional 4,318 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its position in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 678.9% during the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 1,715,050 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $386,315,000 after purchasing an additional 1,494,872 shares during the last quarter. 92.61% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Timothy J. Naughton sold 2,261 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, November 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $233.78, for a total value of $528,576.58. Following the transaction, the director now owns 111,436 shares of the company's stock, valued at $26,051,508.08. This represents a 1.99 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.42% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on AVB. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their target price on AvalonBay Communities from $206.00 to $249.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, September 10th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $222.00 to $244.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, August 26th. 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 report on Tuesday, August 27th. Scotiabank cut their price target on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $244.00 to $241.00 and set a "sector perform" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, November 14th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on AvalonBay Communities from $212.00 to $247.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $228.67.

AvalonBay Communities Price Performance

AvalonBay Communities stock traded down $2.46 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $235.35. 616,785 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 594,135. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a current ratio of 1.64 and a quick ratio of 1.64. The firm has a market cap of $33.48 billion, a PE ratio of 32.20, a PEG ratio of 3.44 and a beta of 0.97. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $226.85 and a 200-day simple moving average of $215.26. AvalonBay Communities, Inc. has a 12 month low of $169.37 and a 12 month high of $239.29.

AvalonBay Communities (NYSE:AVB - Get Free Report) last released 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). The firm had revenue of $734.31 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $731.67 million. AvalonBay Communities had a return on equity of 8.84% and a net margin of 36.20%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $2.66 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that AvalonBay Communities, Inc. will post 11.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AvalonBay Communities Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be paid a dividend of $1.70 per share. This represents a $6.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.89%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 31st. AvalonBay Communities's payout ratio is 93.02%.

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.