Unigestion Holding SA Makes New $578,000 Investment in AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB)

Unigestion Holding SA bought a new stake in AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB - Free Report) in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 2,564 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock, valued at approximately $578,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC purchased a new position in shares of AvalonBay Communities in the third quarter worth $26,000. Brooklyn Investment Group purchased a new position in AvalonBay Communities in the 3rd quarter worth $39,000. Mather Group LLC. lifted its position in AvalonBay Communities by 38.6% during the 3rd quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 201 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $45,000 after acquiring an additional 56 shares during the period. Prospera Private Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in AvalonBay Communities during the 3rd quarter worth about $51,000. Finally, Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. grew its stake in AvalonBay Communities by 731.4% during the 2nd quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 291 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $60,000 after purchasing an additional 256 shares during the last quarter. 92.61% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at AvalonBay Communities

In other news, Director Timothy J. Naughton sold 23,697 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $233.47, for a total value of $5,532,538.59. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 87,239 shares in the company, valued at $20,367,689.33. This represents a 21.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Corporate insiders own 0.42% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on AVB shares. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on AvalonBay Communities from $222.00 to $244.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, August 26th. Scotiabank decreased their price objective on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $244.00 to $241.00 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, November 14th. Evercore ISI upped their price objective on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $225.00 to $229.00 and gave the company an "in-line" rating in a report on Monday, September 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $212.00 to $247.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, September 16th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price target on AvalonBay Communities from $206.00 to $249.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 10th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $228.67.

AvalonBay Communities Price Performance

Shares of AvalonBay Communities stock traded up $1.68 on Thursday, reaching $227.84. The company's stock had a trading volume of 475,525 shares, compared to its average volume of 712,791. AvalonBay Communities, Inc. has a 52-week low of $169.37 and a 52-week high of $239.29. The company has a market capitalization of $32.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.94, a PEG ratio of 3.31 and a beta of 0.98. The company has a quick ratio of 1.64, a current ratio of 1.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $226.90 and a 200-day moving average price of $216.93.

AvalonBay Communities (NYSE:AVB - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The real estate investment trust reported $2.61 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.71 by ($0.10). The company had revenue of $734.31 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $731.67 million. AvalonBay Communities had a return on equity of 8.84% and a net margin of 36.20%. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.66 EPS. Analysts expect that AvalonBay Communities, Inc. will post 11.03 EPS for the current year.

AvalonBay Communities Dividend Announcement

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