Principal Financial Group Inc. Sells 181,217 Shares of AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB)

Principal Financial Group Inc. cut its holdings in AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB) by 3.8% during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 4,562,910 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 181,217 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned approximately 3.21% of AvalonBay Communities worth $1,027,789,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Norden Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of AvalonBay Communities during the first quarter valued at approximately $609,000. Larson Financial Group LLC boosted its holdings in AvalonBay Communities by 124.7% in the first quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 1,045 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $194,000 after acquiring an additional 580 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC boosted its holdings in AvalonBay Communities by 24.2% in the first 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 in the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC grew its stake in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 4,563.7% in the first quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 212,803 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $39,488,000 after acquiring an additional 208,240 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mystic Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 47.7% during the first quarter. Mystic Asset Management Inc. now owns 2,290 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $425,000 after acquiring an additional 740 shares in the last quarter. 92.61% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AVB has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price target on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $206.00 to $249.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 10th. Scotiabank upped their price objective on AvalonBay Communities from $229.00 to $244.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Truist Financial boosted their price target on AvalonBay Communities from $213.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 27th. Zelman & Associates raised AvalonBay Communities to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 5th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on AvalonBay Communities from $212.00 to $247.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $227.06.

AvalonBay Communities Trading Down 0.6 %

Shares of AVB stock opened at $224.93 on Thursday. AvalonBay Communities, Inc. has a 1 year low of $164.76 and a 1 year high of $236.26. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $225.66 and a 200-day moving average price of $210.60. The company has a market cap of $31.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.77, a PEG ratio of 3.29 and a beta of 0.97. 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 (NYSE:AVB) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The real estate investment trust reported $2.61 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.71 by ($0.10). AvalonBay Communities had a return on equity of 7.16% and a net margin of 29.61%. The company had revenue of $734.31 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $731.67 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.66 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that AvalonBay Communities, Inc. will post 11.01 earnings per share for the current year.

AvalonBay Communities Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 30th were paid a $1.70 dividend. 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 3.02%. AvalonBay Communities’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 93.02%.

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.