Daiwa Securities Group Inc. Decreases Stake in AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB)

Daiwa Securities Group Inc. reduced its stake in AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB) by 2.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 57,536 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 1,253 shares during the quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc.’s holdings in AvalonBay Communities were worth $10,772,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. purchased a new position in shares of AvalonBay Communities in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Quarry LP raised its position in AvalonBay Communities by 255.6% during the 2nd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 192 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 138 shares during the last quarter. Castleview Partners LLC raised its position in AvalonBay Communities by 1,542.9% during the 3rd quarter. Castleview Partners LLC now owns 230 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $39,000 after buying an additional 216 shares during the last quarter. Ronald Blue Trust Inc. raised its position in AvalonBay Communities by 316.7% during the 3rd quarter. Ronald Blue Trust Inc. now owns 225 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $42,000 after buying an additional 171 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Arlington Trust Co LLC acquired a new stake in shares of AvalonBay Communities during the 4th quarter worth approximately $45,000. 92.61% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at AvalonBay Communities

In other news, CFO Kevin P. O’shea sold 5,000 shares of AvalonBay Communities stock in a transaction on Friday, March 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $185.65, for a total transaction of $928,250.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 31,308 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,812,330.20. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, CFO Kevin P. O’shea sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $185.65, for a total value of $928,250.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 31,308 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,812,330.20. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Joanne M. Lockridge sold 1,750 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $185.10, for a total transaction of $323,925.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 21,907 shares in the company, valued at $4,054,985.70. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.42% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $207.00 price objective on shares of AvalonBay Communities in a research note on Tuesday, March 26th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft assumed coverage on shares of AvalonBay Communities in a research note on Tuesday, January 30th. They set a “buy” rating and a $206.00 price objective on the stock. Morgan Stanley raised shares of AvalonBay Communities from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $175.00 to $191.50 in a research note on Monday, February 26th. Truist Financial dropped their price objective on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $201.00 to $197.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 9th. Finally, KeyCorp reaffirmed a “sector weight” rating on shares of AvalonBay Communities in a research note on Friday, January 5th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $196.78.

AvalonBay Communities Trading Down 0.1 %

Shares of AVB opened at $180.80 on Thursday. AvalonBay Communities, Inc. has a 52-week low of $160.45 and a 52-week high of $198.65. The company has a quick ratio of 1.44, a current ratio of 1.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $180.81 and its two-hundred day moving average is $177.82. The stock has a market cap of $25.71 billion, a PE ratio of 27.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.33 and a beta of 0.92.

AvalonBay Communities (NYSE:AVB) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 6th. The real estate investment trust reported $1.70 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.73 by ($1.03). AvalonBay Communities had a return on equity of 7.98% and a net margin of 33.56%. The business had revenue of $704.71 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $701.67 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.59 EPS. Research analysts forecast that AvalonBay Communities, Inc. will post 10.8 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AvalonBay Communities Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 28th were issued a dividend of $1.70 per share. This represents a $6.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.76%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 27th. This is a positive change from AvalonBay Communities’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.65. AvalonBay Communities’s payout ratio is currently 103.82%.

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.