Rhumbline Advisers Decreases Position in AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB)

Rhumbline Advisers lowered its stake in shares of AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB) by 2.1% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 294,209 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 6,257 shares during the quarter. Rhumbline Advisers owned 0.21% of AvalonBay Communities worth $60,869,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of AVB. Norges Bank purchased a new position in AvalonBay Communities during the fourth quarter worth $1,271,756,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in AvalonBay Communities by 2.4% during the 1st quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 4,759,095 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $883,098,000 after purchasing an additional 109,585 shares during the last quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board raised its position in AvalonBay Communities by 14.4% in the 1st quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 1,980,675 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $367,534,000 after purchasing an additional 249,400 shares during the period. Clearbridge Investments LLC lifted its stake in AvalonBay Communities by 0.5% in the first quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 1,847,511 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $342,824,000 after purchasing an additional 8,809 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 2.7% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,513,327 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $283,325,000 after buying an additional 39,348 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 92.61% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on AVB. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on AvalonBay Communities from $194.00 to $212.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, June 17th. UBS Group lifted their target price on AvalonBay Communities from $210.00 to $228.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 18th. Mizuho upped their price target on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $185.00 to $194.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, May 30th. Piper Sandler raised their price target on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $230.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $222.00 to $244.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, August 26th. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, AvalonBay Communities presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $214.47.

AvalonBay Communities Price Performance

Shares of AVB stock opened at $227.12 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $32.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.80, a PEG ratio of 3.35 and a beta of 0.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 2.03 and a quick ratio of 2.03. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $210.75 and its 200 day moving average is $196.82. AvalonBay Communities, Inc. has a 1-year low of $160.45 and a 1-year high of $230.04.

AvalonBay Communities (NYSE:AVB) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 31st. The real estate investment trust reported $1.78 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.71 by ($0.93). AvalonBay Communities had a return on equity of 7.16% and a net margin of 29.61%. The firm had revenue of $726.04 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $718.49 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.66 EPS. Research analysts predict that AvalonBay Communities, Inc. will post 11 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

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

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.