Cerity Partners LLC Has $10.75 Million Stake in AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB)

Cerity Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB) by 3.9% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 57,421 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,173 shares during the period. Cerity Partners LLC’s holdings in AvalonBay Communities were worth $10,751,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. State Street Corp boosted its stake in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 5.6% in the 1st quarter. State Street Corp now owns 10,087,597 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $1,711,547,000 after purchasing an additional 531,677 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of AvalonBay Communities in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,001,550,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its stake in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 18.5% in the 1st quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 4,863,429 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $817,348,000 after purchasing an additional 759,388 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its stake in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 2.3% in the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 4,833,571 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $812,332,000 after purchasing an additional 106,604 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 2.1% in the 1st quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,157,645 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $529,565,000 after purchasing an additional 66,300 shares in the last quarter. 92.61% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

AvalonBay Communities Stock Performance

NYSE:AVB opened at $183.78 on Monday. The company has a fifty day moving average of $180.32 and a 200-day moving average of $177.68. The firm has a market capitalization of $26.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.06, a P/E/G ratio of 3.42 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. AvalonBay Communities, Inc. has a twelve month low of $160.45 and a twelve month high of $198.65.

AvalonBay Communities (NYSE:AVB) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 company had revenue of $704.71 million during 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 quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.59 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that AvalonBay Communities, Inc. will post 10.8 EPS for the current year.

AvalonBay Communities Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 28th will be paid a $1.70 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, March 27th. This represents a $6.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.70%. This is a positive change from AvalonBay Communities’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.65. AvalonBay Communities’s payout ratio is currently 103.82%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AVB has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Barclays upgraded shares of AvalonBay Communities from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price target for the company from $194.00 to $204.00 in a research note on Tuesday, February 20th. Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of AvalonBay Communities from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $175.00 to $191.50 in a report on Monday, February 26th. KeyCorp reiterated a “sector weight” rating on shares of AvalonBay Communities in a report on Friday, January 5th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $185.00 price objective on shares of AvalonBay Communities in a report on Friday, February 2nd. 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 research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $196.78.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Kevin P. O’shea sold 5,000 shares of AvalonBay Communities stock in a transaction 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 in the company, valued at approximately $5,812,330.20. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, EVP Joanne M. Lockridge sold 1,750 shares of AvalonBay Communities stock in a transaction 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 accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Kevin P. O’shea sold 5,000 shares of AvalonBay Communities stock in a transaction on Friday, March 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $185.65, for a total transaction of $928,250.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 31,308 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,812,330.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.42% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.