Wedge Capital Management L L P NC Sells 1,630 Shares of AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB)

Wedge Capital Management L L P NC lessened its holdings in AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB) by 8.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 16,995 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 1,630 shares during the period. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC’s holdings in AvalonBay Communities were worth $3,182,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Neo Ivy Capital Management bought a new stake in AvalonBay Communities in the third quarter worth $3,610,000. Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. increased its position in AvalonBay Communities by 2.1% in the fourth quarter. Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. now owns 248,699 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $46,561,000 after purchasing an additional 5,061 shares during the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. increased its position in AvalonBay Communities by 2.2% in the fourth quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. now owns 994,505 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $186,191,000 after purchasing an additional 21,760 shares during the last quarter. Sterling Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in AvalonBay Communities in the fourth quarter worth $1,625,000. Finally, Glenmede Trust Co. NA increased its position in AvalonBay Communities by 55.5% in the third quarter. Glenmede Trust Co. NA now owns 2,890 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $496,000 after purchasing an additional 1,031 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.61% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AVB has been the topic of several research reports. Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of AvalonBay Communities from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $175.00 to $191.50 in a research report on Monday, February 26th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and set a $185.00 price objective on shares of AvalonBay Communities in a research report on Friday, February 2nd. Truist Financial cut their price objective on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $201.00 to $197.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 9th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft initiated coverage on shares of AvalonBay Communities in a research report on Tuesday, January 30th. They set a “buy” rating and a $206.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Barclays upgraded shares of AvalonBay Communities from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $194.00 to $204.00 in a research report on Tuesday, February 20th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $196.78.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Kevin P. O’shea sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $185.65, for a total value of $928,250.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 31,308 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,812,330.20. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other AvalonBay Communities 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 21,907 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,054,985.70. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Kevin P. O’shea sold 5,000 shares of the 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 $5,812,330.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.42% of the stock is owned by insiders.

AvalonBay Communities Trading Up 1.4 %

NYSE AVB opened at $191.34 on Thursday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $182.10 and its 200-day moving average price is $178.43. The company has a current ratio of 1.44, a quick ratio of 1.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68. The stock has a market cap of $27.20 billion, a PE ratio of 29.21, a PEG ratio of 3.51 and a beta of 0.92. AvalonBay Communities, Inc. has a 12 month low of $160.45 and a 12 month high of $198.65.

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

AvalonBay Communities Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 28th were paid a $1.70 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 27th. This is a positive change from AvalonBay Communities’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.65. This represents a $6.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.55%. AvalonBay Communities’s dividend payout ratio is 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.