Mutual of America Capital Management LLC Cuts Stake in AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB)

Mutual of America Capital Management LLC decreased its holdings in AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB) by 39.1% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 19,001 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 12,197 shares during the period. Mutual of America Capital Management LLC’s holdings in AvalonBay Communities were worth $3,557,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. State Street Corp boosted its position in AvalonBay Communities by 5.6% during 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 buying an additional 531,677 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in AvalonBay Communities during the 4th quarter valued at $1,001,550,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its position in AvalonBay Communities by 18.5% during 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 buying an additional 759,388 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its position in AvalonBay Communities by 2.3% during 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 buying an additional 106,604 shares during the period. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in AvalonBay Communities by 2.1% during 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 buying an additional 66,300 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.61% of the company’s stock.

AvalonBay Communities Stock Up 1.1 %

Shares of AvalonBay Communities stock opened at $180.95 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $25.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.63, a PEG ratio of 3.36 and a beta of 0.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 1.44 and a quick ratio of 1.44. AvalonBay Communities, Inc. has a 1 year low of $160.45 and a 1 year high of $198.65. The company has a 50-day moving average of $180.81 and a 200 day moving average of $177.82.

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 analysts’ consensus estimates 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 quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.59 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side 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 disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 28th were paid a dividend of $1.70 per share. This is a positive change from AvalonBay Communities’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.65. This represents a $6.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.76%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 27th. AvalonBay Communities’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 103.82%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AVB has been the subject of several analyst reports. KeyCorp reissued a “sector weight” rating on shares of AvalonBay Communities in a research report on Friday, January 5th. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $191.00 price target on shares of AvalonBay Communities in a research report on Thursday, February 22nd. Wolfe Research cut shares of AvalonBay Communities from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 2nd. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and issued a $185.00 target price on shares of AvalonBay Communities in a research report on Friday, February 2nd. Finally, Piper Sandler reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $207.00 target price on shares of AvalonBay Communities in a research report on Tuesday, March 26th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, AvalonBay Communities presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $196.78.

Insider Buying and Selling at AvalonBay Communities

In other AvalonBay Communities news, CFO Kevin P. O’shea sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 in the company, valued at approximately $5,812,330.20. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, EVP Joanne M. Lockridge sold 1,750 shares of the firm’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 sale, the executive vice president now owns 21,907 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,054,985.70. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Kevin P. O’shea sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $185.65, for a total transaction 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.48% of the stock is 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.