Principal Financial Group Inc. Decreases Stock Holdings in AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB)

Principal Financial Group Inc. cut its stake in AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB) by 2.1% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 4,649,510 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 98,135 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in AvalonBay Communities were worth $870,481,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Arlington Trust Co LLC purchased a new position in AvalonBay Communities during the fourth quarter worth about $45,000. Sandy Spring Bank increased its holdings in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 4,428.6% during the 3rd 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 last quarter. Bear Mountain Capital Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of AvalonBay Communities during the 4th quarter worth approximately $66,000. Larson Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of AvalonBay Communities during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $80,000. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. grew its holdings in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 139.6% during the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 539 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $92,000 after purchasing an additional 314 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.61% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at AvalonBay Communities

In related news, EVP Joanne M. Lockridge sold 1,750 shares of AvalonBay Communities stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 7th. The stock was 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 $4,054,985.70. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other AvalonBay Communities news, CFO Kevin P. O’shea sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $185.65, for a total transaction of $928,250.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 31,308 shares in the company, valued at $5,812,330.20. The sale 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 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 value 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. 0.48% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

AvalonBay Communities Stock Performance

AvalonBay Communities stock traded up $0.10 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $196.99. 333,736 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 786,085. AvalonBay Communities, Inc. has a 52-week low of $160.45 and a 52-week high of $198.65. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $186.07 and its 200 day moving average is $180.11. The stock has a market cap of $28.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.27, a P/E/G ratio of 3.25 and a beta of 0.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a current ratio of 1.07.

AvalonBay Communities (NYSE:AVB) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 26th. The real estate investment trust reported $1.22 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.64 by ($1.42). The business had revenue of $712.86 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $706.61 million. AvalonBay Communities had a net margin of 34.05% and a return on equity of 8.12%. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.57 earnings per share. Analysts predict that AvalonBay Communities, Inc. will post 10.87 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have commented on AVB. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft began coverage on shares of AvalonBay Communities in a research report on Tuesday, January 30th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $206.00 target price on the stock. Barclays upped their price target on AvalonBay Communities from $204.00 to $218.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, April 29th. Morgan Stanley raised shares of AvalonBay Communities from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $175.00 to $191.50 in a research note on Monday, February 26th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $191.00 to $196.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Monday, April 29th. Finally, Evercore ISI cut AvalonBay Communities from an “outperform” rating to an “inline” rating and set a $202.00 target price on the stock. in a research report on Monday. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $201.32.

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.