Assetmark Inc. Grows Stock Holdings in AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB)

Assetmark Inc. raised its stake in AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB) by 6.2% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 16,308 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after buying an additional 956 shares during the period. Assetmark Inc.’s holdings in AvalonBay Communities were worth $3,673,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Advisor Resource Council purchased a new stake in shares of AvalonBay Communities in the third quarter valued at about $538,000. Graypoint LLC purchased a new stake in shares of AvalonBay Communities in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $216,000. FSM Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of AvalonBay Communities during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $232,000. QRG Capital Management Inc. raised its position in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 101.0% during the 3rd quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 16,383 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $3,690,000 after buying an additional 8,234 shares during the period. Finally, National Pension Service lifted its holdings in AvalonBay Communities by 9.8% in the third quarter. National Pension Service now owns 212,409 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $47,845,000 after acquiring an additional 18,888 shares during the last quarter. 92.61% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AVB has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on AvalonBay Communities from $222.00 to $244.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, August 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $212.00 to $247.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Scotiabank lifted their price target on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $229.00 to $244.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Truist Financial boosted their price target on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $213.00 to $230.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 27th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their target price on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $206.00 to $249.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 10th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, AvalonBay Communities presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $227.06.

AvalonBay Communities Stock Performance

Shares of AVB opened at $230.19 on Wednesday. AvalonBay Communities, Inc. has a 1 year low of $164.76 and a 1 year high of $236.26. The stock has a market capitalization of $32.74 billion, a PE ratio of 31.77, a PEG ratio of 3.55 and a beta of 0.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a quick ratio of 2.03 and a current ratio of 2.03. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $226.05 and a 200-day simple moving average of $211.63.

AvalonBay Communities (NYSE:AVB) last issued 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). AvalonBay Communities had a return on equity of 8.84% and a net margin of 36.20%. The firm had revenue of $734.31 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $731.67 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.66 EPS. On average, analysts predict that AvalonBay Communities, Inc. will post 11.04 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AvalonBay Communities Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Investors of record on Monday, September 30th were issued a $1.70 dividend. This represents a $6.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.95%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 30th. AvalonBay Communities’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 93.02%.

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.