Truist Financial Corp Sells 74 Shares of AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB)

Truist Financial Corp decreased its holdings in shares of AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB) by 1.0% in the second quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 7,613 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 74 shares during the period. Truist Financial Corp’s holdings in AvalonBay Communities were worth $1,575,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky boosted its stake in AvalonBay Communities by 4.9% during the 4th quarter. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky now owns 45,725 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $8,561,000 after purchasing an additional 2,139 shares during the last quarter. Virtu Financial LLC bought a new stake in AvalonBay Communities during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $403,000. Abel Hall LLC purchased a new stake in AvalonBay Communities during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $202,000. HighPoint Advisor Group LLC bought a new position in AvalonBay Communities in the fourth quarter worth approximately $308,000. Finally, Kapitalo Investimentos Ltda purchased a new position in shares of AvalonBay Communities during the 4th quarter worth $116,000. 92.61% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on AVB. Zelman & Associates raised AvalonBay Communities to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 5th. Truist Financial increased their price objective on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $213.00 to $230.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 27th. BNP Paribas initiated coverage on shares of AvalonBay Communities in a report on Wednesday, September 11th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $250.00 target price for the company. UBS Group lifted their price target on AvalonBay Communities from $210.00 to $228.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 18th. 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. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $225.88.

Insider Buying and Selling at AvalonBay Communities

In other 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 transaction of $1,044,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive now directly owns 65,967 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,780,506.30. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, SVP Keri A. Shea sold 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $207.17, for a total transaction of $414,340.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 4,383 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $908,026.11. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CIO Matthew H. Birenbaum sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $208.90, for a total transaction of $1,044,500.00. Following the sale, the executive now directly owns 65,967 shares in the company, valued at $13,780,506.30. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.42% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

AvalonBay Communities Stock Up 1.3 %

NYSE:AVB opened at $219.67 on Friday. AvalonBay Communities, Inc. has a 1-year low of $160.45 and a 1-year high of $236.26. 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 firm has a market cap of $31.24 billion, a PE ratio of 37.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.33 and a beta of 0.97. The company has a 50-day moving average of $221.64 and a 200 day moving average of $204.89.

AvalonBay Communities (NYSE:AVB) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The real estate investment trust reported $1.78 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.71 by ($0.93). The company had revenue of $726.04 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $718.49 million. AvalonBay Communities had a return on equity of 7.16% and a net margin of 29.61%. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.66 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts anticipate that AvalonBay Communities, Inc. will post 11.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AvalonBay Communities Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 30th will be issued a dividend of $1.70 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 30th. This represents a $6.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.10%. AvalonBay Communities’s dividend payout ratio is presently 115.06%.

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.