Allworth Financial LP Sells 74 Shares of AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB)

Allworth Financial LP cut its stake in AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB) by 13.1% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 491 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 74 shares during the period. Allworth Financial LP’s holdings in AvalonBay Communities were worth $92,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. bought a new position in AvalonBay Communities in the 3rd quarter worth $26,000. Quarry LP increased its stake in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 255.6% in the 2nd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 192 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 138 shares in the last quarter. Ronald Blue Trust Inc. increased its stake in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 316.7% in the 3rd quarter. Ronald Blue Trust Inc. now owns 225 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $42,000 after acquiring an additional 171 shares in the last quarter. Castleview Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 1,542.9% in the 3rd quarter. Castleview Partners LLC now owns 230 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $39,000 after acquiring an additional 216 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. bought a new position in shares of AvalonBay Communities in the 1st quarter worth about $69,000. 92.61% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Joanne M. Lockridge sold 1,750 shares of the 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 21,907 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,054,985.70. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, EVP Joanne M. Lockridge sold 1,750 shares of the 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 21,907 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,054,985.70. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Kevin P. O’shea sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 31,308 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,812,330.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.42% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently issued reports on AVB shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft started coverage on shares of AvalonBay Communities in a research note on Tuesday, January 30th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $206.00 price target for the company. KeyCorp reiterated a “sector weight” rating on shares of AvalonBay Communities in a research note on Friday, January 5th. Piper Sandler reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $207.00 price target on shares of AvalonBay Communities in a research note on Tuesday, March 26th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $185.00 price target on shares of AvalonBay Communities in a research note on Friday, February 2nd. Finally, Barclays upgraded shares of AvalonBay Communities from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $194.00 to $204.00 in a research note on Tuesday, February 20th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, AvalonBay Communities presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $196.78.

AvalonBay Communities Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE AVB opened at $183.78 on Friday. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $180.32 and its 200-day moving average price is $177.62. 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 company has a market cap of $26.13 billion, a PE ratio of 28.06, a PEG ratio of 3.46 and a beta of 0.92. AvalonBay Communities, Inc. has a 52-week low of $160.45 and a 52-week 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 (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.73 by ($1.03). The company had revenue of $704.71 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations 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 in the previous year, the business earned $2.59 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that AvalonBay Communities, Inc. will post 10.8 EPS for the current year.

AvalonBay Communities Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 28th will be issued a dividend of $1.70 per share. This represents a $6.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.70%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, March 27th. This is an increase from AvalonBay Communities’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.65. AvalonBay Communities’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 103.82%.

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.