Swedbank AB Increases Holdings in AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB)

Swedbank AB increased its position in shares of AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB - Free Report) by 46.6% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 34,791 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after acquiring an additional 11,064 shares during the period. Swedbank AB's holdings in AvalonBay Communities were worth $7,837,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. SYSTM Wealth Solutions LLC grew its position in AvalonBay Communities by 2.7% during the second quarter. SYSTM Wealth Solutions LLC now owns 1,855 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $386,000 after buying an additional 49 shares in the last quarter. Mather Group LLC. raised its stake in AvalonBay Communities by 38.6% in the third quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 201 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $45,000 after purchasing an additional 56 shares in the last quarter. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC raised its stake in AvalonBay Communities by 4.6% in the second quarter. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC now owns 1,338 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $277,000 after purchasing an additional 59 shares in the last quarter. Mechanics Bank Trust Department grew its stake in AvalonBay Communities by 0.3% in the 2nd quarter. Mechanics Bank Trust Department now owns 17,934 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $3,710,000 after buying an additional 60 shares in the last quarter. Finally, SVB Wealth LLC increased its holdings in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 1.1% in the 1st quarter. SVB Wealth LLC now owns 5,529 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $1,026,000 after buying an additional 62 shares during the last quarter. 92.61% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Keri A. Shea sold 2,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $207.17, for a total value of $414,340.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 4,383 shares of the company's stock, valued at $908,026.11. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other AvalonBay Communities news, SVP Keri A. Shea sold 2,000 shares of AvalonBay Communities stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $207.17, for a total value of $414,340.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 4,383 shares in the company, valued at approximately $908,026.11. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CIO Matthew H. Birenbaum sold 5,000 shares of AvalonBay Communities stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $208.90, for a total value of $1,044,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive now directly owns 65,967 shares in the company, valued at $13,780,506.30. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.42% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Evercore ISI upped their target price on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $225.00 to $229.00 and gave the stock an "in-line" rating in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Piper Sandler increased 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. UBS Group raised their price objective on AvalonBay Communities from $210.00 to $228.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, July 18th. Truist Financial upped their target price on AvalonBay Communities from $213.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 27th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $222.00 to $244.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, August 26th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, AvalonBay Communities currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $225.88.

AvalonBay Communities Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE AVB traded up $1.66 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $227.13. 533,150 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 728,573. The firm has a market capitalization of $32.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.54, a PEG ratio of 3.33 and a beta of 0.97. AvalonBay Communities, Inc. has a one year low of $160.45 and a one year high of $236.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a quick ratio of 2.03 and a current ratio of 2.03. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $223.17 and a two-hundred day moving average of $206.27.

AvalonBay Communities (NYSE:AVB - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The real estate investment trust reported $1.78 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $2.71 by ($0.93). The firm had revenue of $726.04 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $718.49 million. AvalonBay Communities had a net margin of 29.61% and a return on equity of 7.16%. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.66 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that AvalonBay Communities, Inc. will post 11.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AvalonBay Communities Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Investors of record on Monday, September 30th were issued a $1.70 dividend. This represents a $6.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.99%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 30th. AvalonBay Communities's dividend payout ratio is 101.19%.

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.