Citigroup Inc. Acquires 17,036 Shares of AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB)

Citigroup Inc. boosted its position in AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB - Free Report) by 9.2% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 201,788 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after purchasing an additional 17,036 shares during the period. Citigroup Inc. owned 0.14% of AvalonBay Communities worth $45,453,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. &PARTNERS acquired a new stake in shares of AvalonBay Communities in the 2nd quarter valued at about $1,538,000. Swedbank AB purchased a new position in AvalonBay Communities in the first quarter valued at approximately $4,532,000. American Assets Capital Advisers LLC bought a new position in shares of AvalonBay Communities during the 3rd quarter worth $1,014,000. Diversified Trust Co purchased a new position in shares of AvalonBay Communities in the second quarter worth about $1,139,000. Finally, DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale lifted its position in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 10.0% during the first quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 100,334 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $18,338,000 after acquiring an additional 9,125 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.61% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently commented on AVB. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price target 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. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their target price on AvalonBay Communities from $234.00 to $233.00 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Piper Sandler upped their price target on AvalonBay Communities from $230.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. BNP Paribas began coverage on shares of AvalonBay Communities in a research note on Wednesday, September 11th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $250.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Scotiabank lowered their price objective on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $244.00 to $241.00 and set a "sector perform" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, November 14th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, AvalonBay Communities presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $226.88.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Timothy J. Naughton sold 2,261 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the director now owns 111,436 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $26,051,508.08. This represents a 1.99 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.48% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

AvalonBay Communities Stock Performance

AVB traded up $0.96 on Monday, hitting $232.90. 964,049 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 721,370. AvalonBay Communities, Inc. has a 52 week low of $169.37 and a 52 week high of $236.26. The firm has a market capitalization of $33.13 billion, a PE ratio of 31.73, a P/E/G ratio of 3.39 and a beta of 0.97. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $226.36 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $214.02. The company has a current ratio of 1.64, a quick ratio of 1.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70.

AvalonBay Communities (NYSE:AVB - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 4th. The real estate investment trust reported $2.61 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $731.67 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $2.66 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that AvalonBay Communities, Inc. will post 11.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AvalonBay Communities Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared 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. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 31st. This represents a $6.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.92%. AvalonBay Communities's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.