Mechanics Bank Trust Department Buys 60 Shares of AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB)

Mechanics Bank Trust Department increased its holdings in shares of AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB) by 0.3% during the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor 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 quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of AVB. Norges Bank bought a new stake in AvalonBay Communities in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,271,756,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its stake in AvalonBay Communities by 2.4% during the first quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 4,759,095 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $883,098,000 after buying an additional 109,585 shares in the last quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board lifted its holdings in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 14.4% during the 1st 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 acquiring an additional 249,400 shares during the period. Clearbridge Investments LLC increased its stake in AvalonBay Communities by 0.5% in the first quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 1,847,511 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $342,824,000 after acquiring an additional 8,809 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in AvalonBay Communities by 2.7% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,513,327 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $283,325,000 after purchasing an additional 39,348 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.61% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at AvalonBay Communities

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

AvalonBay Communities Stock Up 1.0 %

AvalonBay Communities stock traded up $2.07 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $210.46. 394,025 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 726,400. AvalonBay Communities, Inc. has a 52-week low of $160.45 and a 52-week high of $218.79. 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 business’s 50-day moving average price is $203.98 and its 200-day moving average price is $191.40. The stock has a market capitalization of $29.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 0.96.

AvalonBay Communities (NYSE:AVB) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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). The company had revenue of $726.04 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $718.49 million. AvalonBay Communities had a return on equity of 7.16% and a net margin of 29.61%. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.66 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that AvalonBay Communities, Inc. will post 10.97 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AvalonBay Communities Dividend Announcement

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on AvalonBay Communities from $210.00 to $222.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 27th. Barclays lifted their price objective on AvalonBay Communities from $204.00 to $218.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, April 29th. Piper Sandler increased their target price on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $230.00 to $255.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $207.00 to $214.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $210.00 to $228.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 18th. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $210.59.

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.