Huntington National Bank Grows Stock Holdings in AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB)

Huntington National Bank lifted its position in AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB) by 5.7% in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 30,793 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,658 shares during the quarter. Huntington National Bank’s holdings in AvalonBay Communities were worth $6,936,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in AvalonBay Communities in the second quarter worth approximately $32,000. Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its holdings in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 1,877.8% in the 2nd quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 178 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $37,000 after acquiring an additional 169 shares during the last quarter. BROOKFIELD Corp ON purchased a new stake in shares of AvalonBay Communities in the 1st quarter valued at $39,000. Mather Group LLC. grew its holdings in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 38.6% during the 3rd quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 201 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $45,000 after purchasing an additional 56 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV raised its position in AvalonBay Communities by 38.8% in the 2nd quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV now owns 261 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $54,000 after purchasing an additional 73 shares during the period. 92.61% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

AvalonBay Communities Stock Down 2.2 %

AVB stock opened at $227.93 on Friday. AvalonBay Communities, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $166.60 and a fifty-two week high of $236.26. The company has a market capitalization of $32.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.36 and a beta of 0.97. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $226.23 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $212.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a quick ratio of 2.03 and a current ratio of 2.03.

AvalonBay Communities (NYSE:AVB) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The real estate investment trust reported $2.61 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.71 by ($0.10). The firm had revenue of $734.31 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $731.67 million. AvalonBay Communities had a net margin of 36.20% and a return on equity of 8.84%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.66 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that AvalonBay Communities, Inc. will post 11.04 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AvalonBay Communities Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be paid a $1.70 dividend. This represents a $6.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.98%. AvalonBay Communities’s payout ratio is 93.02%.

Insider Activity at AvalonBay Communities

In related news, Director Timothy J. Naughton sold 2,261 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $233.78, for a total value of $528,576.58. Following the sale, the director now owns 111,436 shares in the company, valued at $26,051,508.08. This represents a 1.99 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.42% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AVB has been the subject of several analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price target on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $234.00 to $233.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. UBS Group increased their target price on AvalonBay Communities from $210.00 to $228.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, July 18th. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on AvalonBay Communities from $225.00 to $229.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price objective on AvalonBay Communities from $206.00 to $249.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 10th. Finally, Zelman & Associates upgraded shares of AvalonBay Communities to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, September 5th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $226.88.

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.