Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co. Raises Stock Holdings in AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB)

Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co. raised its position in shares of AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB) by 6.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 505,727 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after buying an additional 31,500 shares during the period. Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co. owned about 0.36% of AvalonBay Communities worth $94,682,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of AVB. Deutsche Bank AG raised its holdings in AvalonBay Communities by 6.5% during the third quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 2,496,671 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $428,778,000 after purchasing an additional 151,995 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its position in AvalonBay Communities by 17.4% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,298,186 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $394,690,000 after purchasing an additional 341,332 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp grew its stake in AvalonBay Communities by 5.9% in the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 2,278,363 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $391,286,000 after acquiring an additional 126,288 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 2.0% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,473,979 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $253,141,000 after purchasing an additional 29,453 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its position in AvalonBay Communities by 0.8% during the third quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,114,611 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $191,423,000 after buying an additional 9,223 shares in the last quarter. 92.61% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at AvalonBay Communities

In other news, CFO Kevin P. O’shea sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $185.65, for a total transaction of $928,250.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 31,308 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,812,330.20. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In related news, EVP Joanne M. Lockridge sold 1,750 shares of AvalonBay Communities stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $185.10, for a total value of $323,925.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 21,907 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,054,985.70. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Kevin P. O’shea sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $185.65, for a total transaction of $928,250.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 31,308 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,812,330.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.48% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

AvalonBay Communities Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:AVB traded down $0.40 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $190.62. 157,451 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 809,421. The company has a current ratio of 1.44, a quick ratio of 1.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $182.93 and a 200-day moving average price of $178.78. AvalonBay Communities, Inc. has a 12 month low of $160.45 and a 12 month high of $198.65. The firm has a market cap of $27.10 billion, a PE ratio of 28.38, a PEG ratio of 3.23 and a beta of 0.92.

AvalonBay Communities (NYSE:AVB) last released its earnings results on Friday, April 26th. The real estate investment trust reported $1.22 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.64 by ($1.42). The company had revenue of $712.86 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $706.61 million. AvalonBay Communities had a net margin of 34.05% and a return on equity of 8.12%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.57 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that AvalonBay Communities, Inc. will post 10.84 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AvalonBay Communities Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 28th were given a $1.70 dividend. This is a boost from AvalonBay Communities’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.65. This represents a $6.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.57%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 27th. AvalonBay Communities’s dividend payout ratio is 101.19%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on AVB. KeyCorp restated a “sector weight” rating on shares of AvalonBay Communities in a research report on Friday, January 5th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $191.00 to $196.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Monday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft initiated coverage on AvalonBay Communities in a report on Tuesday, January 30th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $206.00 price target for the company. Wolfe Research lowered AvalonBay Communities from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 2nd. Finally, Argus increased their price objective on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $188.00 to $212.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $200.50.

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.