Wedge Capital Management L L P NC Reduces Stock Holdings in AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB)

Wedge Capital Management L L P NC reduced its stake in shares of AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB) by 8.8% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 16,995 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 1,630 shares during the quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC’s holdings in AvalonBay Communities were worth $3,182,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of AvalonBay Communities during the 3rd quarter valued at about $26,000. Ronald Blue Trust Inc. increased its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 171 shares during the last quarter. Castleview Partners LLC increased its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 216 shares during the last quarter. Arlington Trust Co LLC purchased a new stake in AvalonBay Communities during the 4th quarter worth approximately $45,000. Finally, Lindbrook Capital LLC increased its holdings in AvalonBay Communities by 53.7% during the 3rd quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 312 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $54,000 after purchasing an additional 109 shares during the last quarter. 92.61% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. KeyCorp restated a “sector weight” rating on shares of AvalonBay Communities in a report on Friday, January 5th. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and set a $185.00 price objective on shares of AvalonBay Communities in a report on Friday, February 2nd. Morgan Stanley upgraded AvalonBay Communities from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $175.00 to $191.50 in a report on Monday, February 26th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft started coverage on AvalonBay Communities in a report on Tuesday, January 30th. They set a “buy” rating and a $206.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $191.00 target price on shares of AvalonBay Communities in a research report on Thursday, February 22nd. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, AvalonBay Communities currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $196.78.

AvalonBay Communities Trading Up 1.4 %

Shares of AVB stock opened at $191.34 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 1.44 and a current ratio of 1.44. AvalonBay Communities, Inc. has a 1 year low of $160.45 and a 1 year high of $198.65. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $182.10 and a two-hundred day moving average of $178.43. The firm has a market capitalization of $27.20 billion, a PE ratio of 29.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.51 and a beta of 0.92.

AvalonBay Communities (NYSE:AVB) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 6th. The real estate investment trust reported $1.70 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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 quarter last year, the firm posted $2.59 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that AvalonBay Communities, Inc. will post 10.8 EPS for the current year.

AvalonBay Communities Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 28th were given a dividend of $1.70 per share. This represents a $6.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.55%. 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 103.82%.

Insider Transactions at AvalonBay Communities

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

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.