Blue Trust Inc. Has $552,000 Stock Position in AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB)

Blue Trust Inc. boosted its position in AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB) by 115.2% during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,668 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after buying an additional 1,428 shares during the quarter. Blue Trust Inc.’s holdings in AvalonBay Communities were worth $552,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. grew its position in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 487.8% in the second quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 359,474 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $74,372,000 after purchasing an additional 298,322 shares during the last quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board boosted its stake in AvalonBay Communities by 14.4% during the 1st quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 1,980,675 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $367,534,000 after purchasing an additional 249,400 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC grew its holdings in AvalonBay Communities by 4,563.7% in the 1st quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 212,803 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $39,488,000 after buying an additional 208,240 shares during the last quarter. Artemis Investment Management LLP bought a new position in AvalonBay Communities in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $29,256,000. Finally, Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI acquired a new position in shares of AvalonBay Communities during the second quarter worth approximately $26,755,000. 92.61% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

AvalonBay Communities Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:AVB opened at $224.15 on Tuesday. 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 business’s fifty day moving average price is $223.80 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $207.27. 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 market capitalization of $31.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.33 and a beta of 0.97.

AvalonBay Communities (NYSE:AVB) last posted its earnings results 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 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 company posted $2.66 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that AvalonBay Communities, Inc. will post 11.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AvalonBay Communities Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 30th were issued a dividend of $1.70 per share. This represents a $6.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.03%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 30th. AvalonBay Communities’s payout ratio is 101.19%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AVB has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Zelman & Associates upgraded shares of AvalonBay Communities to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 5th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price target on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $206.00 to $249.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $212.00 to $247.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Scotiabank lifted their target price on AvalonBay Communities from $229.00 to $244.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Finally, Evercore ISI upped their price target on AvalonBay Communities from $225.00 to $229.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a report on Monday, September 16th. Eleven research 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.com, AvalonBay Communities presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $225.88.

Insider Activity

In related news, CIO Matthew H. Birenbaum sold 5,000 shares of the 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. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, SVP Keri A. Shea sold 2,000 shares of the firm’s 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 completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 4,383 shares in the company, valued at approximately $908,026.11. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CIO Matthew H. Birenbaum sold 5,000 shares of AvalonBay Communities stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the executive now directly owns 65,967 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,780,506.30. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.42% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.