PGGM Investments Raises Holdings in AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB)

PGGM Investments boosted its stake in AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB) by 24.7% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 5,682 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after buying an additional 1,127 shares during the quarter. PGGM Investments’ holdings in AvalonBay Communities were worth $1,176,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of AvalonBay Communities during the fourth quarter worth about $1,271,756,000. Cbre Investment Management Listed Real Assets LLC grew its stake in AvalonBay Communities by 70.8% in the 4th quarter. Cbre Investment Management Listed Real Assets LLC now owns 835,133 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $156,354,000 after acquiring an additional 346,214 shares during the period. Heitman Real Estate Securities LLC lifted its stake in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 307.4% during the 4th 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 period. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board boosted its holdings in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 14.4% during the first quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 1,980,675 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $367,534,000 after purchasing an additional 249,400 shares during the last quarter. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC grew its position in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 4,563.7% in the first quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 212,803 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $39,488,000 after purchasing an additional 208,240 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.61% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at AvalonBay Communities

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

AvalonBay Communities Stock Up 0.8 %

AVB traded up $1.77 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $213.52. 575,331 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 723,807. AvalonBay Communities, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $160.45 and a fifty-two week high of $218.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 1.07 and a quick ratio of 1.07. The company has a market cap of $30.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.77, a PEG ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 0.96. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $204.88 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $192.03.

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

AvalonBay Communities Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, July 15th. Investors of record on Friday, June 28th were paid a $1.70 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 28th. This represents a $6.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.18%. AvalonBay Communities’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 101.19%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AVB has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Scotiabank increased their target price on AvalonBay Communities from $213.00 to $218.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $194.00 to $212.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, June 17th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $210.00 to $228.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 18th. Finally, Piper Sandler increased their target price on AvalonBay Communities from $230.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $211.12.

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.