New York State Common Retirement Fund Reduces Stock Position in AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB)

New York State Common Retirement Fund reduced its position in shares of AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB) by 7.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 189,343 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 14,915 shares during the period. New York State Common Retirement Fund owned 0.13% of AvalonBay Communities worth $35,449,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of AVB. Castleview Partners LLC lifted its holdings in AvalonBay Communities by 1,542.9% in the third 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 period. Arlington Trust Co LLC purchased a new stake in AvalonBay Communities in the fourth quarter worth about $45,000. Lindbrook Capital LLC lifted its holdings in AvalonBay Communities by 53.7% in the third quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 312 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $54,000 after buying an additional 109 shares during the period. Sandy Spring Bank lifted its holdings in AvalonBay Communities by 4,428.6% in the third quarter. Sandy Spring Bank now owns 317 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $54,000 after buying an additional 310 shares during the period. Finally, Bear Mountain Capital Inc. purchased a new stake in AvalonBay Communities in the fourth quarter worth about $66,000. 92.61% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

AvalonBay Communities Price Performance

Shares of AVB opened at $191.30 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $27.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.56 and a beta of 0.92. 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 has a 50 day moving average of $182.37 and a 200 day moving average of $178.52. AvalonBay Communities, Inc. has a twelve month low of $160.45 and a twelve month high of $198.65.

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 for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.73 by ($1.03). The firm had revenue of $704.71 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $701.67 million. AvalonBay Communities had a net margin of 33.56% and a return on equity of 7.98%. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.59 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that AvalonBay Communities, Inc. will post 10.8 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AvalonBay Communities Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 28th were given a dividend of $1.70 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 27th. This represents a $6.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.55%. This is an increase from AvalonBay Communities’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.65. AvalonBay Communities’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 103.82%.

Insider Activity at AvalonBay Communities

In other AvalonBay Communities news, EVP Joanne M. Lockridge sold 1,750 shares of AvalonBay Communities stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 7th. The shares were 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 owns 21,907 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,054,985.70. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other AvalonBay Communities news, CFO Kevin P. O’shea sold 5,000 shares of AvalonBay Communities stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $185.65, for a total value of $928,250.00. Following the completion of 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 legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Joanne M. Lockridge sold 1,750 shares of AvalonBay Communities stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 7th. The stock was 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 directly owns 21,907 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,054,985.70. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.42% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AVB has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Mizuho lowered their price objective on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $188.00 to $185.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 28th. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $185.00 price objective on shares of AvalonBay Communities in a report on Friday, February 2nd. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $191.00 price objective on shares of AvalonBay Communities in a report on Thursday, February 22nd. KeyCorp restated a “sector weight” rating on shares of AvalonBay Communities in a report on Friday, January 5th. Finally, Wolfe Research lowered shares of AvalonBay Communities from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 2nd. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $196.78.

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.