Maryland State Retirement & Pension System Grows Stock Holdings in AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB)

Maryland State Retirement & Pension System grew its holdings in AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB) by 3.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 11,027 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after buying an additional 358 shares during the period. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System’s holdings in AvalonBay Communities were worth $2,064,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in AVB. Private Advisor Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 12.0% during the 4th quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 2,031 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $380,000 after purchasing an additional 217 shares during the period. Metis Global Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 5.2% during the fourth quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC now owns 19,255 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $3,605,000 after acquiring an additional 959 shares in the last quarter. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 4.2% in the fourth quarter. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,252 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $422,000 after purchasing an additional 91 shares during the period. Malaga Cove Capital LLC raised its position in AvalonBay Communities by 8.7% during the 4th quarter. Malaga Cove Capital LLC now owns 13,522 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $2,532,000 after purchasing an additional 1,078 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of AvalonBay Communities in the 4th quarter worth $387,000. 92.61% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AVB has been the topic of a number of research reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft started coverage on shares of AvalonBay Communities in a research report on Tuesday, January 30th. They set a “buy” rating and a $206.00 target price on the stock. Morgan Stanley raised AvalonBay Communities from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $175.00 to $191.50 in a research report on Monday, February 26th. Mizuho decreased their price target on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $188.00 to $185.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 28th. Barclays increased their target price on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $204.00 to $218.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, April 29th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “neutral” rating and set a $191.00 price target on shares of AvalonBay Communities in a research note on Thursday, February 22nd. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, AvalonBay Communities presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $200.50.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Joanne M. Lockridge sold 1,750 shares of AvalonBay Communities 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 21,907 shares in the company, valued at $4,054,985.70. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other AvalonBay Communities news, CFO Kevin P. O’shea sold 5,000 shares of AvalonBay Communities 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 transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 31,308 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,812,330.20. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Joanne M. Lockridge sold 1,750 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $185.10, for a total value 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.48% of the company’s stock.

AvalonBay Communities Stock Down 0.3 %

Shares of AVB traded down $0.53 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $195.36. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 28,900 shares, compared to its average volume of 796,531. The company has a market cap of $27.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.15, a P/E/G ratio of 3.28 and a beta of 0.90. The company has a quick ratio of 1.44, a current ratio of 1.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68. The company has a fifty day moving average of $184.93 and a two-hundred day moving average of $179.50. AvalonBay Communities, Inc. has a twelve month low of $160.45 and a twelve month high of $198.65.

AvalonBay Communities (NYSE:AVB) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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). The firm had revenue of $712.86 million for 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 previous year, the company earned $2.57 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that AvalonBay Communities, Inc. will post 10.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AvalonBay Communities Company 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.