Lebenthal Global Advisors LLC Raises Holdings in AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB)

Lebenthal Global Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB) by 15.5% during the second quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 1,593 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after acquiring an additional 214 shares during the quarter. Lebenthal Global Advisors LLC’s holdings in AvalonBay Communities were worth $330,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in AVB. Lasalle Investment Management Securities LLC increased its stake in AvalonBay Communities by 3.1% in the fourth quarter. Lasalle Investment Management Securities LLC now owns 602,642 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $112,827,000 after purchasing an additional 18,320 shares during the period. Delta Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in AvalonBay Communities in the 4th quarter valued at about $873,000. GSI Capital Advisors LLC raised its stake in AvalonBay Communities by 21.3% during the 4th quarter. GSI Capital Advisors LLC now owns 50,774 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $9,506,000 after acquiring an additional 8,925 shares during the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its position in AvalonBay Communities by 14.4% during the 4th quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 58,931 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $11,033,000 after acquiring an additional 7,397 shares during the period. Finally, Hsbc Holdings PLC grew its stake in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 9.2% in the 4th quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 452,893 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $84,890,000 after purchasing an additional 38,235 shares during the last quarter. 92.61% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently commented on AVB. Argus upped their price target on AvalonBay Communities from $188.00 to $212.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 30th. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $204.00 to $218.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, April 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $194.00 to $212.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, June 17th. Evercore ISI cut their price target on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $218.00 to $216.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a report on Monday, August 12th. Finally, Truist Financial raised their price objective on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $207.00 to $213.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, June 24th. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $211.12.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Keri A. Shea sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $207.17, for a total value of $414,340.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 4,383 shares in the company, valued at $908,026.11. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, CIO Matthew H. Birenbaum sold 5,000 shares of AvalonBay Communities stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, the executive now owns 65,967 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,780,506.30. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP Keri A. Shea sold 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 6th. The shares were 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $908,026.11. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.42% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

AvalonBay Communities Price Performance

NYSE AVB traded up $3.71 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $221.73. The stock had a trading volume of 420,308 shares, compared to its average volume of 719,804. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $207.42 and a 200 day simple moving average of $193.90. The company has a quick ratio of 1.07, a current ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71. The company has a market cap of $31.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.00, a P/E/G ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 0.96. AvalonBay Communities, Inc. has a 52-week low of $160.45 and a 52-week high of $221.92.

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 for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.71 by ($0.93). AvalonBay Communities had a net margin of 29.61% and a return on equity of 7.16%. The firm had revenue of $726.04 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $718.49 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.66 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that AvalonBay Communities, Inc. will post 10.97 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.