Mechanics Bank Trust Department Grows Stake in AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB)

Mechanics Bank Trust Department boosted its position in shares of AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB) by 0.3% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 17,934 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after acquiring an additional 60 shares during the quarter. Mechanics Bank Trust Department’s holdings in AvalonBay Communities were worth $3,710,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of AVB. SVB Wealth LLC lifted its position in AvalonBay Communities by 1.1% during the first quarter. SVB Wealth LLC now owns 5,529 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $1,026,000 after purchasing an additional 62 shares in the last quarter. West Coast Financial LLC increased its holdings in AvalonBay Communities by 3.9% in the 1st quarter. West Coast Financial LLC now owns 1,732 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $321,000 after acquiring an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. Sheaff Brock Investment Advisors LLC increased its holdings in AvalonBay Communities by 1.1% in the 1st quarter. Sheaff Brock Investment Advisors LLC now owns 6,361 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $1,180,000 after acquiring an additional 69 shares in the last quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV raised its stake in AvalonBay Communities by 38.8% during the 2nd quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV now owns 261 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $54,000 after acquiring an additional 73 shares during the period. Finally, Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. lifted its holdings in AvalonBay Communities by 50.0% during the first quarter. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. now owns 225 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.61% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have issued reports on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $207.00 to $214.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on AvalonBay Communities from $203.00 to $209.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $194.00 to $212.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, June 17th. Scotiabank upped their price target on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $213.00 to $218.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Mizuho increased their price objective on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $185.00 to $194.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 30th. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $210.59.

AvalonBay Communities Stock Up 1.0 %

Shares of AvalonBay Communities stock traded up $2.07 on Friday, reaching $210.46. The stock had a trading volume of 394,025 shares, compared to its average volume of 726,400. AvalonBay Communities, Inc. has a 1 year low of $160.45 and a 1 year high of $218.79. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $203.98 and a 200 day moving average price of $191.40. The company has a quick ratio of 1.07, a current ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71. The stock has a market capitalization of $29.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.32, a P/E/G ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 0.96.

AvalonBay Communities (NYSE:AVB) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The real estate investment trust reported $1.78 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.71 by ($0.93). The firm had revenue of $726.04 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $718.49 million. AvalonBay Communities had a net margin of 29.61% and a return on equity of 7.16%. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.66 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that AvalonBay Communities, Inc. will post 10.97 EPS for the current year.

AvalonBay Communities Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, July 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 28th were given a $1.70 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 28th. This represents a $6.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.23%. AvalonBay Communities’s dividend payout ratio is presently 101.19%.

Insider Transactions at AvalonBay Communities

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