AvalonBay Communities, Inc. $AVB Shares Acquired by AQR Capital Management LLC

Key Points

• AQR Capital Management LLC increased its stake in AvalonBay Communities by 16.8%, acquiring an additional 13,025 shares, bringing its total holdings to 90,674 shares worth approximately $19.46 million.
• Several other large investors have also made significant purchases, with Nuveen LLC acquiring a new stake valued at approximately $280 million and GAMMA Investing LLC increasing its stake by over 21,000%.
• Wall Street analysts have reduced their target prices for AvalonBay Communities' shares, with the average consensus target now at $218.08, while five analysts rate the stock as a Buy.

AQR Capital Management LLC raised its position in AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB - Free Report) by 16.8% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 90,674 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after purchasing an additional 13,025 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC owned about 0.06% of AvalonBay Communities worth $19,460,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in AVB. Nuveen LLC purchased a new stake in shares of AvalonBay Communities in the 1st quarter worth about $280,226,000. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 21,024.3% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 550,500 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $118,148,000 after purchasing an additional 547,894 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its position in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 7.1% in the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 5,520,036 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $1,184,712,000 after purchasing an additional 367,853 shares during the last quarter. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH purchased a new position in shares of AvalonBay Communities during the 4th quarter worth approximately $78,759,000. Finally, Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio purchased a new position in shares of AvalonBay Communities during the 4th quarter worth approximately $59,023,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.61% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently issued reports on AVB. UBS Group reduced their target price on AvalonBay Communities from $238.00 to $216.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, July 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on AvalonBay Communities from $251.00 to $249.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, June 17th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on AvalonBay Communities from $244.00 to $213.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, August 27th. Scotiabank dropped their price objective on AvalonBay Communities from $236.00 to $226.00 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, August 14th. Finally, Mizuho restated a "neutral" rating and issued a $199.00 target price (down from $213.00) on shares of AvalonBay Communities in a report on Thursday, August 14th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $218.08.

AvalonBay Communities Trading Down 0.7%

NYSE AVB traded down $1.45 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $195.38. 545,767 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 779,975. The business's 50 day moving average is $194.70 and its 200-day moving average is $202.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a quick ratio of 0.70 and a current ratio of 0.70. AvalonBay Communities, Inc. has a 12-month low of $180.40 and a 12-month high of $239.29. The firm has a market capitalization of $27.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.83 and a beta of 0.87.

AvalonBay Communities (NYSE:AVB - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 30th. The real estate investment trust reported $2.82 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.80 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $689.90 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $759.08 million. AvalonBay Communities had a net margin of 38.91% and a return on equity of 9.70%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.77 EPS. AvalonBay Communities has set its FY 2025 guidance at 11.190-11.590 EPS. Q3 2025 guidance at 2.750-2.850 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that AvalonBay Communities, Inc. will post 11.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other AvalonBay Communities news, CFO Kevin P. O'shea sold 6,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $207.57, for a total transaction of $1,245,420.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 22,782 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,728,859.74. This trade represents a 20.85% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.45% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

AvalonBay Communities Profile

AvalonBay Communities, Inc is a real estate investment trust, which engages in the development, acquisition, ownership, and operation of multifamily communities. It operates through the following segments: Same Store, Other Stabilized, and Development or Redevelopment. The Same Store segment refers to the operating communities that were owned and had stabilized occupancy.