Czech National Bank Increases Stock Position in AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB)

Czech National Bank increased its holdings in shares of AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB) by 6.9% during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 28,932 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,874 shares during the quarter. Czech National Bank’s holdings in AvalonBay Communities were worth $6,517,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Cohen & Steers Inc. boosted its position in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 131.1% in the fourth quarter. Cohen & Steers Inc. now owns 19,368 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $3,626,000 after acquiring an additional 10,986 shares during the period. Heitman Real Estate Securities LLC grew its holdings in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 307.4% in the fourth quarter. Heitman Real Estate Securities LLC now owns 351,104 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $65,734,000 after purchasing an additional 264,923 shares during the last quarter. GRS Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 14.7% in the fourth quarter. GRS Advisors LLC now owns 124,266 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $23,265,000 after acquiring an additional 15,923 shares during the period. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky raised its position in AvalonBay Communities by 4.9% during the 4th quarter. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky now owns 45,725 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $8,561,000 after purchasing an additional 2,139 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Virtu Financial LLC purchased a new stake in AvalonBay Communities in the fourth quarter worth $403,000. 92.61% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on AVB shares. UBS Group lifted their price target on AvalonBay Communities from $210.00 to $228.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 18th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price target on AvalonBay Communities from $206.00 to $249.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 10th. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $225.00 to $229.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Truist Financial boosted their price target on AvalonBay Communities from $213.00 to $230.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 27th. Finally, BNP Paribas started coverage on AvalonBay Communities in a report on Wednesday, September 11th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $250.00 target price on the stock. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $225.88.

Insider Transactions at AvalonBay Communities

In other AvalonBay Communities news, CIO Matthew H. Birenbaum sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $208.90, for a total value of $1,044,500.00. Following the sale, the executive now directly owns 65,967 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,780,506.30. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. In related news, CIO Matthew H. Birenbaum sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $208.90, for a total transaction of $1,044,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive now owns 65,967 shares in the company, valued at $13,780,506.30. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP Keri A. Shea sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $207.17, for a total transaction of $414,340.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 4,383 shares in the company, valued at $908,026.11. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.42% of the company’s stock.

AvalonBay Communities Stock Performance

Shares of AvalonBay Communities stock opened at $216.94 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $30.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.55 and a beta of 0.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 2.03 and a quick ratio of 2.03. The business has a 50-day moving average of $221.56 and a 200 day moving average of $204.80. AvalonBay Communities, Inc. has a 12 month low of $160.45 and a 12 month high of $236.26.

AvalonBay Communities (NYSE:AVB) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The real estate investment trust reported $1.78 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.71 by ($0.93). The business had revenue of $726.04 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $718.49 million. AvalonBay Communities had a return on equity of 7.16% and a net margin of 29.61%. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.66 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that AvalonBay Communities, Inc. will post 11.01 earnings per share for the current year.

AvalonBay Communities Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 30th will be paid a $1.70 dividend. This represents a $6.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.13%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 30th. AvalonBay Communities’s payout ratio is presently 101.19%.

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.