Insider Selling: AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB) Director Sells 23,697 Shares of Stock

AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB) Director Timothy J. Naughton sold 23,697 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the director now owns 87,239 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $20,367,689.33. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link.

AvalonBay Communities Stock Performance

NYSE AVB traded up $2.90 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $233.11. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 483,556 shares, compared to its average volume of 727,136. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $226.11 and a 200 day moving average price of $211.90. AvalonBay Communities, Inc. has a 12 month low of $166.60 and a 12 month high of $236.26. The firm has a market capitalization of $33.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.36 and a beta of 0.97. The company has a current ratio of 2.03, a quick ratio of 2.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70.

AvalonBay Communities (NYSE:AVB) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The real estate investment trust reported $2.61 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.71 by ($0.10). The company had revenue of $734.31 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 prior year, the company earned $2.66 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that AvalonBay Communities, Inc. will post 11.04 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AvalonBay Communities Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Investors of record on Monday, September 30th were paid a $1.70 dividend. This represents a $6.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.92%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 30th. AvalonBay Communities’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 93.02%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently commented on AVB. Evercore ISI raised their price objective on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $225.00 to $229.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a report on Monday, September 16th. Scotiabank lifted their price objective on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $229.00 to $244.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Monday, September 16th. Truist Financial increased their target price on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $213.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 27th. Piper Sandler lifted their price target on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $230.00 to $255.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, Zelman & Associates upgraded AvalonBay Communities to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, September 5th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, AvalonBay Communities currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $227.06.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On AvalonBay Communities

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Townsquare Capital LLC lifted its position in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 42.0% during the 3rd quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC now owns 4,900 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $1,104,000 after buying an additional 1,450 shares during the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its stake in AvalonBay Communities by 54.8% during the third quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 259,531 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $58,459,000 after acquiring an additional 91,861 shares in the last quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group bought a new position in shares of AvalonBay Communities in the third quarter worth about $39,000. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company boosted its stake in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 2.5% in the 3rd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 112,392 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $25,316,000 after purchasing an additional 2,702 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Capital Square LLC grew its holdings in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 26.9% during the 3rd quarter. Capital Square LLC now owns 3,067 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $691,000 after purchasing an additional 650 shares during the last quarter. 92.61% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.