Values First Advisors Inc. Makes New Investment in AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB)

Values First Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB) during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 899 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock, valued at approximately $202,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in AvalonBay Communities by 0.7% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,074,269 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $429,145,000 after purchasing an additional 13,631 shares during the period. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board raised its holdings in shares of 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 buying an additional 249,400 shares during the period. Clearbridge Investments LLC lifted its position in AvalonBay Communities by 0.5% during the 1st quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 1,847,511 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $342,824,000 after acquiring an additional 8,809 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its position in AvalonBay Communities by 11.9% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,183,121 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $244,776,000 after acquiring an additional 126,055 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Russell Investments Group Ltd. boosted its holdings in AvalonBay Communities by 11.9% in the 1st quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 784,723 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $145,576,000 after acquiring an additional 83,400 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.61% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on AVB shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $212.00 to $247.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Piper Sandler lifted their price target on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $230.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Zelman & Associates raised shares of AvalonBay Communities to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 5th. 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, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on AvalonBay Communities from $222.00 to $244.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note 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 has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $225.88.

AvalonBay Communities Stock Performance

AvalonBay Communities stock opened at $229.76 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 2.03 and a quick ratio of 2.03. AvalonBay Communities, Inc. has a 12 month low of $160.45 and a 12 month high of $236.26. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $224.38 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $207.73. The company has a market cap of $32.67 billion, a PE ratio of 34.19, a P/E/G ratio of 3.33 and a beta of 0.97.

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

AvalonBay Communities Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Investors of record on Monday, September 30th were issued a $1.70 dividend. This represents a $6.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.96%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 30th. AvalonBay Communities’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 101.19%.

Insider Activity at AvalonBay Communities

In other AvalonBay Communities news, SVP Keri A. Shea sold 2,000 shares of the 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 sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 4,383 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other AvalonBay Communities news, SVP Keri A. Shea sold 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 6th. The shares were 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 owns 4,383 shares in the company, valued at approximately $908,026.11. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CIO Matthew H. Birenbaum sold 5,000 shares of AvalonBay Communities 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 sale, the executive now directly owns 65,967 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,780,506.30. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.42% of the company’s stock.

AvalonBay Communities Company 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.