AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB) is Pensionfund DSM Netherlands' 9th Largest Position

Pensionfund DSM Netherlands lessened its holdings in AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB - Free Report) by 19.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 22,120 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after selling 5,500 shares during the quarter. AvalonBay Communities accounts for 3.0% of Pensionfund DSM Netherlands' investment portfolio, making the stock its 9th biggest position. Pensionfund DSM Netherlands' holdings in AvalonBay Communities were worth $4,866,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AVB. Nordea Investment Management AB grew its stake in AvalonBay Communities by 40.7% in the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 314,110 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $69,148,000 after purchasing an additional 90,808 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in AvalonBay Communities by 13.5% during the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,606 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $573,000 after acquiring an additional 309 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its holdings in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 1.4% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 4,060,497 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $914,627,000 after purchasing an additional 55,588 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its position in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 11.6% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 212,338 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $47,056,000 after purchasing an additional 22,076 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Tidal Investments LLC increased its position in AvalonBay Communities by 18.9% during the 3rd quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 76,652 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $17,266,000 after buying an additional 12,165 shares in the last quarter. 92.61% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AVB has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Evercore ISI lifted 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. BNP Paribas assumed coverage on AvalonBay Communities in a research note on Wednesday, September 11th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $250.00 price target for the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price objective on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $206.00 to $249.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 10th. Scotiabank reduced their target price on shares of 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, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded AvalonBay Communities from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $247.00 to $262.00 in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $234.53.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other AvalonBay Communities news, Director Timothy J. Naughton sold 23,697 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $233.47, for a total value of $5,532,538.59. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 87,239 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $20,367,689.33. The trade was a 21.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 0.42% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

AvalonBay Communities Trading Down 3.1 %

Shares of NYSE AVB traded down $6.78 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $212.39. The company's stock had a trading volume of 540,414 shares, compared to its average volume of 474,635. The business's 50 day moving average is $226.61 and its two-hundred day moving average is $220.07. 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, Inc. has a 12-month low of $169.37 and a 12-month high of $239.29. The firm has a market cap of $30.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.30 and a beta of 0.99.

AvalonBay Communities (NYSE:AVB - Get Free Report) last announced its 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 company had revenue of $734.31 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 business posted $2.66 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that AvalonBay Communities, Inc. will post 11.03 EPS for the current year.

AvalonBay Communities Announces Dividend

The business 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 dividend of $1.70 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 31st. This represents a $6.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.20%. AvalonBay Communities's payout ratio is 93.02%.

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.