AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB) Shares Bought by BNP Paribas Financial Markets

BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its stake in AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB) by 86.7% in the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 234,743 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after purchasing an additional 109,028 shares during the period. BNP Paribas Financial Markets’ holdings in AvalonBay Communities were worth $43,559,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. West Coast Financial LLC boosted its stake in AvalonBay Communities by 3.9% in the first quarter. West Coast Financial LLC now owns 1,732 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $321,000 after acquiring an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. First Affirmative Financial Network boosted its stake in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 4.8% during the fourth quarter. First Affirmative Financial Network now owns 1,494 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $280,000 after buying an additional 69 shares during the period. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. boosted its stake in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 50.0% during the first quarter. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. now owns 225 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $42,000 after buying an additional 75 shares during the period. Czech National Bank boosted its stake in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 0.3% during the first quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 24,959 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $4,631,000 after buying an additional 86 shares during the period. Finally, Wealth Alliance boosted its stake in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 5.8% during the fourth quarter. Wealth Alliance now owns 1,595 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $299,000 after buying an additional 88 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.61% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on AVB shares. Scotiabank increased their target price on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $193.00 to $213.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 14th. Truist Financial increased their target price on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $207.00 to $213.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, June 24th. Barclays increased their target price on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $204.00 to $218.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, April 29th. 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 report on Monday, June 17th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $203.00 to $209.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 14th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, AvalonBay Communities presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $206.89.

AvalonBay Communities Price Performance

AvalonBay Communities stock traded up $2.32 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $203.27. The company had a trading volume of 540,594 shares, compared to its average volume of 598,793. AvalonBay Communities, Inc. has a 1 year low of $160.45 and a 1 year high of $208.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 1.07 and a quick ratio of 1.07. The company has a market capitalization of $28.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.25, a P/E/G ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 0.96. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $198.03 and its 200-day simple moving average is $187.40.

AvalonBay Communities (NYSE:AVB) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 26th. The real estate investment trust reported $1.22 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.64 by ($1.42). The business had revenue of $712.86 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $706.61 million. AvalonBay Communities had a net margin of 34.05% and a return on equity of 8.12%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.57 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that AvalonBay Communities, Inc. will post 10.92 EPS for the current year.

AvalonBay Communities Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 28th will be given a $1.70 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 28th. This represents a $6.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.35%. AvalonBay Communities’s dividend payout ratio is presently 101.19%.

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.