Simplicity Solutions LLC Sells 161 Shares of AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB)

Simplicity Solutions LLC reduced its stake in AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB) by 12.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,182 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 161 shares during the period. Simplicity Solutions LLC’s holdings in AvalonBay Communities were worth $221,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV boosted its stake in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 1.4% in the third quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 4,387 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $753,000 after buying an additional 62 shares during the period. First Affirmative Financial Network raised its position in AvalonBay Communities by 4.8% during the fourth quarter. First Affirmative Financial Network now owns 1,494 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $280,000 after purchasing an additional 69 shares in the last quarter. Atria Investments Inc raised its position in AvalonBay Communities by 0.7% during the third quarter. Atria Investments Inc now owns 10,723 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $1,842,000 after purchasing an additional 79 shares in the last quarter. SVB Wealth LLC raised its position in AvalonBay Communities by 1.1% during the first quarter. SVB Wealth LLC now owns 6,968 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $1,731,000 after purchasing an additional 79 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quantitative Investment Management LLC raised its position in AvalonBay Communities by 2.9% during the second quarter. Quantitative Investment Management LLC now owns 2,823 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $534,000 after purchasing an additional 80 shares in the last quarter. 92.61% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

AvalonBay Communities Stock Up 1.2 %

Shares of NYSE:AVB opened at $184.13 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $26.18 billion, a PE ratio of 28.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.39 and a beta of 0.92. 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 52-week low of $160.45 and a 52-week high of $198.65. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $181.15 and a 200 day moving average of $178.03.

AvalonBay Communities (NYSE:AVB) last announced 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). 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $701.67 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.59 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts anticipate that AvalonBay Communities, Inc. will post 10.8 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AvalonBay Communities Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 15th. Stockholders 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. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 27th. This represents a $6.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.69%. AvalonBay Communities’s payout ratio is presently 103.82%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AVB has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Morgan Stanley upgraded AvalonBay Communities from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $175.00 to $191.50 in a report on Monday, February 26th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft began coverage on shares of AvalonBay Communities in a research report on Tuesday, January 30th. They set a “buy” rating and a $206.00 price target on the stock. Barclays raised shares of AvalonBay Communities from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price target for the company from $194.00 to $204.00 in a research report on Tuesday, February 20th. Wolfe Research cut shares of AvalonBay Communities from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 2nd. Finally, KeyCorp reissued a “sector weight” rating on shares of AvalonBay Communities in a research report on Friday, January 5th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $196.78.

Insider Activity at AvalonBay Communities

In other AvalonBay Communities 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 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 $4,054,985.70. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other AvalonBay Communities news, CFO Kevin P. O’shea sold 5,000 shares of the 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 completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 31,308 shares in the company, valued at $5,812,330.20. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Joanne M. Lockridge sold 1,750 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 in the company, valued at $4,054,985.70. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.42% of the stock is owned by corporate 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.