Cerity Partners LLC Buys 5,993 Shares of AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB)

Cerity Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB) by 11.2% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 59,714 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after acquiring an additional 5,993 shares during the period. Cerity Partners LLC’s holdings in AvalonBay Communities were worth $13,451,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of AvalonBay Communities in the second quarter worth about $32,000. Versant Capital Management Inc raised its holdings in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 1,877.8% during the 2nd quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 178 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $37,000 after acquiring an additional 169 shares in the last quarter. Mather Group LLC. boosted its position in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 38.6% during the 3rd quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 201 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $45,000 after acquiring an additional 56 shares during the last quarter. Prospera Private Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of AvalonBay Communities in the third quarter valued at $51,000. Finally, Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV increased its position in AvalonBay Communities by 38.8% in the second quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV now owns 261 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $54,000 after purchasing an additional 73 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.61% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have commented on AVB shares. Piper Sandler lifted their price objective on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $230.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. BNP Paribas began coverage on AvalonBay Communities in a research note on Wednesday, September 11th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $250.00 price objective on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price objective on AvalonBay Communities from $234.00 to $233.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their target price on AvalonBay Communities from $206.00 to $249.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 10th. Finally, Evercore ISI raised their price target on AvalonBay Communities from $225.00 to $229.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $226.88.

AvalonBay Communities Stock Up 0.4 %

Shares of NYSE AVB opened at $232.94 on Tuesday. AvalonBay Communities, Inc. has a 52-week low of $169.37 and a 52-week high of $236.26. The firm has a market capitalization of $33.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.87, a PEG ratio of 3.39 and a beta of 0.97. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $226.36 and a 200 day moving average price of $214.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a quick ratio of 1.64 and a current ratio of 1.64.

AvalonBay Communities (NYSE:AVB) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The real estate investment trust reported $2.61 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.71 by ($0.10). The firm had revenue of $734.31 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $731.67 million. AvalonBay Communities had a return on equity of 8.84% and a net margin of 36.20%. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.66 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that AvalonBay Communities, Inc. will post 11.03 earnings per share for the current year.

AvalonBay Communities Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be given a $1.70 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 31st. This represents a $6.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.92%. AvalonBay Communities’s payout ratio is presently 93.02%.

Insider Transactions at AvalonBay Communities

In other news, Director Timothy J. Naughton sold 23,697 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $233.47, for a total value of $5,532,538.59. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 87,239 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $20,367,689.33. The trade was a 21.36 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.48% of the company’s stock.

About AvalonBay Communities

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.