Arkadios Wealth Advisors Purchases Shares of 2,288 AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB)

Key Points

• Arkadios Wealth Advisors has acquired 2,288 shares of AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB), valued at approximately $491,000, during the first quarter of this year.
• Internal transactions revealed that EVP Edward M. Schulman and CFO Kevin P. O'Shea both sold significant shares, decreasing their ownership of the company.
• Analysts have mixed ratings on AVB, with price targets ranging from $211 to $241, but the consensus average price target stands at $228.79.

Arkadios Wealth Advisors purchased a new position in AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 2,288 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock, valued at approximately $491,000.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in AVB. Proathlete Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of AvalonBay Communities during the 1st quarter worth approximately $29,000. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in AvalonBay Communities in the 1st quarter valued at $33,000. Ancora Advisors LLC grew its stake in AvalonBay Communities by 1,666.7% in the 4th quarter. Ancora Advisors LLC now owns 159 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 150 shares during the period. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. acquired a new stake in AvalonBay Communities in the 4th quarter valued at $53,000. Finally, Continuum Advisory LLC lifted its position in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 12,200.0% in the fourth quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC now owns 246 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $54,000 after acquiring an additional 244 shares in the last quarter. 92.61% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at AvalonBay Communities

In related news, EVP Edward M. Schulman sold 5,945 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $205.67, for a total value of $1,222,708.15. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 17,617 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,623,288.39. This trade represents a 25.23% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Kevin P. O'shea sold 6,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $207.57, for a total value of $1,245,420.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 22,782 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,728,859.74. The trade was a 20.85% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.48% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on AVB shares. Barclays lifted their price target on AvalonBay Communities from $240.00 to $241.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 15th. Royal Bank Of Canada lowered their price target on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $216.00 to $211.00 and set a "sector perform" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, August 1st. Scotiabank dropped their price target on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $251.00 to $236.00 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, June 13th. Mizuho cut their target price on AvalonBay Communities from $238.00 to $213.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 23rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their target price on AvalonBay Communities from $226.00 to $228.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 15th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $228.79.

AvalonBay Communities Stock Performance

AVB traded up $0.30 on Wednesday, hitting $186.61. 1,283,570 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 818,269. The company has a 50 day moving average of $202.30 and a 200-day moving average of $207.96. The company has a quick ratio of 0.51, a current ratio of 0.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71. The stock has a market capitalization of $26.57 billion, a PE ratio of 22.98, a PEG ratio of 2.46 and a beta of 0.86. AvalonBay Communities, Inc. has a 12-month low of $180.40 and a 12-month high of $239.29.

AvalonBay Communities (NYSE:AVB - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The real estate investment trust reported $2.82 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.80 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $689.90 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $759.08 million. AvalonBay Communities had a return on equity of 9.70% and a net margin of 38.91%. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.77 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that AvalonBay Communities, Inc. will post 11.48 earnings per share for the current year.

AvalonBay Communities Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Investors of record on Monday, June 30th were paid a $1.75 dividend. This represents a $7.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 30th. AvalonBay Communities's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 86.21%.

About AvalonBay Communities

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.