L & S Advisors Inc Makes New $7.39 Million Investment in AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB)

L & S Advisors Inc purchased a new stake in AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB) during the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund purchased 35,710 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock, valued at approximately $7,388,000. AvalonBay Communities accounts for about 0.8% of L & S Advisors Inc’s portfolio, making the stock its 28th largest position.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Private Advisor Group LLC boosted its holdings in AvalonBay Communities by 12.0% during the 4th quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 2,031 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $380,000 after acquiring an additional 217 shares during the period. Principal Securities Inc. purchased a new position in shares of AvalonBay Communities in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $137,000. Jump Financial LLC grew its holdings in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 53.3% in the fourth quarter. Jump Financial LLC now owns 3,680 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $689,000 after purchasing an additional 1,280 shares in the last quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. increased its stake in AvalonBay Communities by 30.8% during the 4th quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 5,883 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $1,101,000 after buying an additional 1,386 shares during the period. Finally, Janney Montgomery Scott LLC lifted its holdings in AvalonBay Communities by 7.3% during the 4th quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 43,995 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $8,237,000 after buying an additional 2,990 shares in the last quarter. 92.61% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have commented on AVB. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price target 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. UBS Group boosted their target price on AvalonBay Communities from $210.00 to $228.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 18th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on AvalonBay Communities from $207.00 to $214.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on AvalonBay Communities from $212.00 to $247.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday. Finally, Zelman & Associates upgraded shares of AvalonBay Communities to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, September 5th. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $223.12.

Insider Buying and Selling at AvalonBay Communities

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

AvalonBay Communities Stock Down 0.8 %

AvalonBay Communities stock opened at $232.85 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $33.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.65, a PEG ratio of 3.41 and a beta of 0.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a quick ratio of 2.03 and a current ratio of 2.03. AvalonBay Communities, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $160.45 and a fifty-two week high of $236.26. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $214.83 and a 200-day simple moving average of $199.96.

AvalonBay Communities (NYSE:AVB) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 31st. The real estate investment trust reported $1.78 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.71 by ($0.93). The firm had revenue of $726.04 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 previous year, the company posted $2.66 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that AvalonBay Communities, Inc. will post 11.01 earnings per share for the current year.

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.