First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. Purchases 421 Shares of AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB)

First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. boosted its stake in shares of AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB) by 15.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 3,236 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after purchasing an additional 421 shares during the quarter. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P.’s holdings in AvalonBay Communities were worth $606,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in AVB. Castleview Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of 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 buying an additional 216 shares in the last quarter. Arlington Trust Co LLC bought a new stake in shares of AvalonBay Communities in the 4th quarter worth about $45,000. Sandy Spring Bank grew its holdings in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 4,428.6% in the 3rd quarter. Sandy Spring Bank now owns 317 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $54,000 after purchasing an additional 310 shares during the last quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC grew its holdings in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 53.7% in the 3rd quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 312 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $54,000 after purchasing an additional 109 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bear Mountain Capital Inc. bought a new stake in shares of AvalonBay Communities in the 4th quarter worth about $66,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.61% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at AvalonBay Communities

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have commented on AVB shares. Mizuho decreased their price objective on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $188.00 to $185.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 28th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft started coverage on shares of AvalonBay Communities in a report on Tuesday, January 30th. They set a “buy” rating and a $206.00 price objective on the stock. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $204.00 to $218.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, April 29th. Argus increased their price objective on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $188.00 to $212.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 30th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $191.00 price target on shares of AvalonBay Communities in a research report on Thursday, February 22nd. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $200.50.

AvalonBay Communities Stock Performance

AVB opened at $192.81 on Monday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $184.06 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $179.15. AvalonBay Communities, Inc. has a 1 year low of $160.45 and a 1 year high of $198.65. The company has a market capitalization of $27.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.69, a P/E/G ratio of 3.28 and a beta of 0.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 1.44 and a quick ratio of 1.44.

AvalonBay Communities (NYSE:AVB) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 26th. The real estate investment trust reported $1.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.64 by ($1.42). AvalonBay Communities had a net margin of 34.05% and a return on equity of 8.12%. The firm had revenue of $712.86 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $706.61 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.57 EPS. Equities analysts expect that AvalonBay Communities, Inc. will post 10.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AvalonBay Communities 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.