Sentry Investment Management LLC Cuts Stock Position in AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB)

Sentry Investment Management LLC trimmed its stake in shares of AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB) by 17.0% during the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 609 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 125 shares during the quarter. Sentry Investment Management LLC’s holdings in AvalonBay Communities were worth $126,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in AvalonBay Communities in the 2nd quarter valued at about $32,000. Versant Capital Management Inc raised its holdings in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 1,877.8% during the second quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 178 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $37,000 after acquiring an additional 169 shares during the last quarter. BROOKFIELD Corp ON purchased a new position in shares of AvalonBay Communities in the first quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. boosted its stake in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 50.0% in the first quarter. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. now owns 225 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $42,000 after acquiring an additional 75 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV increased its position in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 38.8% during the second quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV now owns 261 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $54,000 after purchasing an additional 73 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.61% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have weighed in on AVB. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on AvalonBay Communities from $222.00 to $244.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, August 26th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $207.00 to $214.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Evercore ISI boosted their price target on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $223.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research report on Monday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price objective on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $206.00 to $249.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Mizuho boosted their target price on AvalonBay Communities from $185.00 to $194.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, May 30th. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $218.94.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Keri A. Shea sold 2,000 shares of the firm’s 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 transaction, the senior vice president now owns 4,383 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $908,026.11. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, SVP Keri A. Shea sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $207.17, for a total value of $414,340.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 4,383 shares in the company, valued at $908,026.11. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CIO Matthew H. Birenbaum sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 5th. The stock was 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $13,780,506.30. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.42% of the company’s stock.

AvalonBay Communities Stock Up 0.7 %

AvalonBay Communities stock opened at $231.66 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $32.94 billion, a PE ratio of 34.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.03 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 $232.33. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $213.60 and a 200 day moving average price of $198.80.

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 for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.71 by ($0.93). AvalonBay Communities had a net margin of 29.61% and a return on equity of 7.16%. The firm had revenue of $726.04 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $718.49 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.66 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that AvalonBay Communities, Inc. will post 11 earnings per share for the current year.

AvalonBay Communities 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.