Maryland State Retirement & Pension System Grows Stock Holdings in AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB)

Maryland State Retirement & Pension System increased its holdings in AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB) by 3.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 11,027 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after purchasing an additional 358 shares during the quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System’s holdings in AvalonBay Communities were worth $2,064,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of AVB. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its holdings in AvalonBay Communities by 17.4% in 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 during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its stake in AvalonBay Communities by 2,140.1% during the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 213,727 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $40,347,000 after purchasing an additional 204,186 shares during the last quarter. Deutsche Bank AG lifted its holdings in shares of 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 valued at $428,778,000 after purchasing an additional 151,995 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp boosted its position in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 5.9% during the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 2,278,363 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $391,286,000 after buying an additional 126,288 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. lifted its stake in AvalonBay Communities by 200.7% during the 3rd quarter. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. now owns 159,834 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $27,450,000 after acquiring an additional 106,676 shares during the period. 92.61% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

AvalonBay Communities Price Performance

NYSE AVB traded down $0.53 on Wednesday, reaching $195.36. The company had a trading volume of 28,900 shares, compared to its average volume of 796,531. The company has a quick ratio of 1.44, a current ratio of 1.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68. The stock has a market capitalization of $27.78 billion, a PE ratio of 29.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.28 and a beta of 0.90. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $184.93 and its 200 day moving average price is $179.50. AvalonBay Communities, Inc. has a 12 month low of $160.45 and a 12 month high of $198.65.

AvalonBay Communities (NYSE:AVB) last posted 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). AvalonBay Communities had a return on equity of 8.12% and a net margin of 34.05%. The business had revenue of $712.86 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $706.61 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.57 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that AvalonBay Communities, Inc. will post 10.86 earnings per share for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently commented on the stock. Truist Financial reduced their price target on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $201.00 to $197.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 9th. Mizuho dropped their target price on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $188.00 to $185.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 28th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $191.00 to $196.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Monday, April 29th. Barclays raised their target price on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $204.00 to $218.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, April 29th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of AvalonBay Communities from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $175.00 to $191.50 in a report on Monday, February 26th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $200.50.

Insider Buying and Selling

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