Desjardins Global Asset Management Inc. Trims Holdings in AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB)

Desjardins Global Asset Management Inc. decreased its holdings in AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB) by 58.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 538 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 761 shares during the quarter. Desjardins Global Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in AvalonBay Communities were worth $101,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of AVB. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. purchased a new stake in AvalonBay Communities in the 3rd quarter valued at $26,000. Quarry LP raised its position in AvalonBay Communities by 255.6% in the 2nd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 192 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 138 shares during the last quarter. Castleview Partners LLC raised its position in AvalonBay Communities by 1,542.9% in the 3rd quarter. Castleview Partners LLC now owns 230 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 216 shares during the last quarter. Ronald Blue Trust Inc. raised its position in AvalonBay Communities by 316.7% in the 3rd quarter. Ronald Blue Trust Inc. now owns 225 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 171 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Arlington Trust Co LLC purchased a new position in AvalonBay Communities during the 4th quarter worth $45,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.61% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have commented on AVB shares. Wolfe Research downgraded shares of AvalonBay Communities from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 2nd. KeyCorp restated a “sector weight” rating on shares of AvalonBay Communities in a research report on Friday, January 5th. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and set a $185.00 price objective on shares of AvalonBay Communities in a research report on Friday, February 2nd. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “neutral” rating and set a $191.00 price objective on shares of AvalonBay Communities in a research report on Thursday, February 22nd. Finally, Truist Financial lowered their price target on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $201.00 to $197.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 9th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $196.78.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other AvalonBay Communities news, CFO Kevin P. O’shea sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $185.65, for a total transaction of $928,250.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 31,308 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,812,330.20. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, EVP Joanne M. Lockridge sold 1,750 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $185.10, for a total transaction of $323,925.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 21,907 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,054,985.70. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Kevin P. O’shea sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $185.65, for a total transaction of $928,250.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 31,308 shares in the company, valued at $5,812,330.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.42% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

AvalonBay Communities Price Performance

Shares of NYSE AVB opened at $184.13 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $26.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.11, a PEG ratio of 3.37 and a beta of 0.92. AvalonBay Communities, Inc. has a 52 week low of $160.45 and a 52 week high of $198.65. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $181.15 and its 200 day moving average price is $177.96. The company has a current ratio of 1.44, a quick ratio of 1.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68.

AvalonBay Communities (NYSE:AVB) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 6th. The real estate investment trust reported $1.70 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.73 by ($1.03). AvalonBay Communities had a return on equity of 7.98% and a net margin of 33.56%. The firm had revenue of $704.71 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $701.67 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.59 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts forecast that AvalonBay Communities, Inc. will post 10.8 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AvalonBay Communities Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 28th were paid a dividend of $1.70 per share. This is a boost from AvalonBay Communities’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.65. This represents a $6.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.69%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 27th. AvalonBay Communities’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 103.82%.

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.