Erste Asset Management GmbH Acquires Shares of 7,800 AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB)

Erste Asset Management GmbH purchased a new position in shares of AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB - Free Report) in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 7,800 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock, valued at approximately $1,757,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AVB. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in AvalonBay Communities by 3.6% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,240,436 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $504,658,000 after acquiring an additional 78,800 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in AvalonBay Communities by 0.7% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,074,269 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $429,145,000 after buying an additional 13,631 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its stake in 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 valued at $386,315,000 after acquiring an additional 1,494,872 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its holdings in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 11.9% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,183,121 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $244,776,000 after buying an additional 126,055 shares during the last quarter. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. lifted its stake in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 6.2% in the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 461,937 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $95,570,000 after buying an additional 26,859 shares during the last quarter. 92.61% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AVB has been the topic of several research reports. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price target on AvalonBay Communities from $234.00 to $233.00 and set a "sector perform" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price objective on AvalonBay Communities from $206.00 to $249.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 10th. Truist Financial upped their price target on AvalonBay Communities from $213.00 to $230.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 27th. Scotiabank cut their price objective on AvalonBay Communities from $244.00 to $241.00 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, November 14th. Finally, Evercore ISI lifted their target price on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $225.00 to $229.00 and gave the company an "in-line" rating in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $228.67.

AvalonBay Communities Trading Down 0.2 %

AVB traded down $0.55 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $227.87. 444,511 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 717,560. The stock has a market capitalization of $32.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.17, a PEG ratio of 3.37 and a beta of 0.98. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $226.73 and its 200 day simple moving average is $215.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a quick ratio of 1.64 and a current ratio of 1.64. AvalonBay Communities, Inc. has a one year low of $169.37 and a one year high of $239.29.

AvalonBay Communities (NYSE:AVB - Get Free Report) last announced 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $731.67 million. AvalonBay Communities had a net margin of 36.20% and a return on equity of 8.84%. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.66 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that AvalonBay Communities, Inc. will post 11.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AvalonBay Communities Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be paid a $1.70 dividend. This represents a $6.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.98%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 31st. AvalonBay Communities's dividend payout ratio is 93.02%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Timothy J. Naughton sold 23,697 shares of AvalonBay Communities stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $233.47, for a total transaction of $5,532,538.59. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 87,239 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,367,689.33. The trade was a 21.36 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 0.48% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.