First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. Has $1.28 Million Holdings in AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB)

First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. raised its holdings in shares of AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB) by 34.3% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 5,691 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after buying an additional 1,454 shares during the quarter. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P.’s holdings in AvalonBay Communities were worth $1,282,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 0.7% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,074,269 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $429,145,000 after buying an additional 13,631 shares during the last quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board increased its position in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 14.4% during the first 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. Clearbridge Investments LLC increased its position in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 0.5% during the first quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 1,847,511 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $342,824,000 after purchasing an additional 8,809 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its position in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 11.9% during the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,183,121 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $244,776,000 after purchasing an additional 126,055 shares during the period. Finally, Russell Investments Group Ltd. increased its position in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 11.9% during the first quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 784,723 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $145,576,000 after purchasing an additional 83,400 shares during the period. 92.61% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Keri A. Shea sold 2,000 shares of the 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 completion of the transaction, 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other AvalonBay Communities news, SVP Keri A. Shea sold 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 4,383 shares in the company, valued at $908,026.11. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CIO Matthew H. Birenbaum sold 5,000 shares of the firm’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 value of $1,044,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive now owns 65,967 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $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. 0.48% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on AVB. Zelman & Associates upgraded AvalonBay Communities to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 5th. UBS Group upped their price target on AvalonBay Communities from $210.00 to $228.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 18th. 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 research report on Monday, September 16th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price target on AvalonBay Communities from $206.00 to $249.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 10th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on AvalonBay Communities from $212.00 to $247.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $225.88.

AvalonBay Communities Trading Down 2.7 %

NYSE:AVB opened at $221.61 on Friday. AvalonBay Communities, Inc. has a 1-year low of $161.85 and a 1-year high of $236.26. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $225.66 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $209.28. The firm has a market capitalization of $31.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.50, a PEG ratio of 3.33 and a beta of 0.97. The company has a current ratio of 2.03, a quick ratio of 2.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71.

AvalonBay Communities (NYSE:AVB) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The real estate investment trust reported $1.78 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.71 by ($0.93). AvalonBay Communities had a return on equity of 7.16% and a net margin of 29.61%. The business had revenue of $726.04 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $718.49 million. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.66 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts expect that AvalonBay Communities, Inc. will post 11.01 earnings per share for the current year.

AvalonBay Communities Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 30th were issued a $1.70 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 30th. This represents a $6.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.07%. AvalonBay Communities’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 115.06%.

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.