Raymond James Trust N.A. Increases Stake in AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB)

Raymond James Trust N.A. boosted its stake in AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB) by 3.1% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 2,015 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after acquiring an additional 60 shares during the quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A.’s holdings in AvalonBay Communities were worth $454,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 3.6% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,240,436 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $504,658,000 after buying an additional 78,800 shares during the period. Payden & Rygel boosted its holdings in AvalonBay Communities by 33.0% in the third quarter. Payden & Rygel now owns 80,200 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $18,065,000 after acquiring an additional 19,900 shares during the last quarter. Portfolio Design Labs LLC acquired a new position in AvalonBay Communities in the third quarter valued at $3,966,000. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board purchased a new stake in AvalonBay Communities during the third quarter valued at about $1,292,000. Finally, Hilton Capital Management LLC increased its stake in AvalonBay Communities by 36.1% during the third quarter. Hilton Capital Management LLC now owns 60,584 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $13,647,000 after acquiring an additional 16,065 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.61% of the company’s stock.

AvalonBay Communities Price Performance

Shares of NYSE AVB opened at $235.45 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.64, a current ratio of 1.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70. AvalonBay Communities, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $169.37 and a fifty-two week high of $236.49. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $226.45 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $214.54. The firm has a market cap of $33.49 billion, a PE ratio of 32.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.39 and a beta of 0.97.

AvalonBay Communities (NYSE:AVB) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The real estate investment trust reported $2.61 earnings per share 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 previous year, the business posted $2.66 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that AvalonBay Communities, Inc. will post 11.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AvalonBay Communities Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be paid a $1.70 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 31st. This represents a $6.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.89%. AvalonBay Communities’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 93.02%.

Insider Transactions at AvalonBay Communities

In other AvalonBay Communities news, Director Timothy J. Naughton sold 2,261 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $233.78, for a total transaction of $528,576.58. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 111,436 shares in the company, valued at $26,051,508.08. The trade was a 1.99 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Corporate insiders own 0.48% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price objective on AvalonBay Communities from $206.00 to $249.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 10th. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price objective on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $234.00 to $233.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. BNP Paribas initiated coverage on shares of AvalonBay Communities in a research note on Wednesday, September 11th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $250.00 target price on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $212.00 to $247.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, September 16th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on AvalonBay Communities from $222.00 to $244.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, August 26th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $226.88.

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.