AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB) Director Timothy J. Naughton Sells 23,697 Shares

AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB) Director Timothy J. Naughton sold 23,697 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $233.47, for a total transaction of $5,532,538.59. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 87,239 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $20,367,689.33. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website.

AvalonBay Communities Price Performance

NYSE:AVB traded up $2.90 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $233.11. The company had a trading volume of 483,556 shares, compared to its average volume of 727,136. The company has a quick ratio of 2.03, a current ratio of 2.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $226.11 and a two-hundred day moving average of $211.90. AvalonBay Communities, Inc. has a one year low of $166.60 and a one year high of $236.26. The firm has a market capitalization of $33.15 billion, a PE ratio of 31.89, a PEG ratio of 3.36 and a beta of 0.97.

AvalonBay Communities (NYSE:AVB) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The real estate investment trust reported $2.61 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.71 by ($0.10). The firm had revenue of $734.31 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $731.67 million. AvalonBay Communities had a net margin of 36.20% and a return on equity of 8.84%. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.66 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that AvalonBay Communities, Inc. will post 11.04 earnings per share for the current year.

AvalonBay Communities Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 30th were given a dividend of $1.70 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 30th. This represents a $6.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.92%. AvalonBay Communities’s payout ratio is 93.02%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have weighed in on AVB shares. UBS Group raised their target price on AvalonBay Communities from $210.00 to $228.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, July 18th. Scotiabank upped 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on AvalonBay Communities from $212.00 to $247.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, September 16th. Piper Sandler raised their target price on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $230.00 to $255.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, Zelman & Associates raised shares of AvalonBay Communities to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 5th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, AvalonBay Communities presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $227.06.

Institutional Trading of AvalonBay Communities

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Empowered Funds LLC grew its holdings in AvalonBay Communities by 24.2% during the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 1,831 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $340,000 after acquiring an additional 357 shares during the period. Headlands Technologies LLC increased its stake in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 774.0% in the 1st quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC now owns 874 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $162,000 after acquiring an additional 774 shares during the last quarter. Entropy Technologies LP grew its holdings in AvalonBay Communities by 2.5% during the first quarter. Entropy Technologies LP now owns 3,811 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $707,000 after purchasing an additional 93 shares during the period. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. increased its stake in AvalonBay Communities by 14.4% in the first quarter. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. now owns 32,952 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $6,115,000 after purchasing an additional 4,138 shares in the last quarter. Finally, State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System raised its holdings in AvalonBay Communities by 9.4% in the first quarter. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System now owns 177,298 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $32,899,000 after purchasing an additional 15,236 shares during the period. 92.61% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.