AvalonBay Communities, Inc. $AVB Shares Acquired by Varma Mutual Pension Insurance Co

Key Points

• Varma Mutual Pension Insurance Co raised its stake in AvalonBay by 24.1% in Q4 to 77,161 shares (about $13.99 million), while institutional investors collectively own roughly 92.61% of the stock.
• AvalonBay missed Q1 EPS ($2.33 vs. $2.80 expected) though revenue was roughly in line, and it set FY2026 guidance of $11.00–$11.50 EPS; analysts maintain a consensus "Hold" with an average price target of $197.47.
• The company increased its quarterly dividend to $1.78 ($7.12 annual) for a ~3.9% yield, but the dividend payout ratio is high at 114.29%.

Varma Mutual Pension Insurance Co lifted its stake in shares of AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB - Free Report) by 24.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 77,161 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after buying an additional 15,000 shares during the quarter. Varma Mutual Pension Insurance Co owned approximately 0.05% of AvalonBay Communities worth $13,990,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Mather Group LLC. acquired a new stake in shares of AvalonBay Communities during the third quarter worth approximately $30,000. BOKF NA acquired a new stake in shares of AvalonBay Communities during the third quarter worth approximately $31,000. AlphaQuest LLC acquired a new stake in shares of AvalonBay Communities during the third quarter worth approximately $33,000. Headlands Technologies LLC acquired a new stake in shares of AvalonBay Communities during the second quarter worth approximately $36,000. Finally, Fulcrum Asset Management LLP acquired a new stake in shares of AvalonBay Communities during the third quarter worth approximately $37,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.61% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AVB has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Citigroup decreased their price target on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $212.00 to $198.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 13th. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price target on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $180.00 to $188.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. Truist Financial decreased their price target on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $203.00 to $201.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, March 3rd. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an "equal weight" rating and issued a $203.00 price objective (down from $208.00) on shares of AvalonBay Communities in a report on Thursday, March 26th. Finally, Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $202.00 to $206.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, April 27th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and thirteen have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, AvalonBay Communities currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $197.47.

AvalonBay Communities Stock Performance

AvalonBay Communities stock opened at $182.59 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $25.40 billion, a PE ratio of 29.31, a P/E/G ratio of 3.22 and a beta of 0.79. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $171.51 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $176.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 0.77 and a quick ratio of 0.77. AvalonBay Communities, Inc. has a 12 month low of $160.10 and a 12 month high of $211.65.

AvalonBay Communities (NYSE:AVB - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Monday, April 27th. The real estate investment trust reported $2.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $2.80 by ($0.47). AvalonBay Communities had a net margin of 37.21% and a return on equity of 9.56%. The company had revenue of $770.28 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $768.80 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $2.83 earnings per share. AvalonBay Communities has set its FY 2026 guidance at 11.000-11.500 EPS and its Q2 2026 guidance at 2.720-2.820 EPS. Research analysts expect that AvalonBay Communities, Inc. will post 11.29 earnings per share for the current year.

AvalonBay Communities Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 31st were issued a dividend of $1.78 per share. This represents a $7.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.9%. This is a positive change from AvalonBay Communities's previous quarterly dividend of $1.75. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 31st. AvalonBay Communities's dividend payout ratio is presently 114.29%.

About AvalonBay Communities

AvalonBay Communities, Inc NYSE: AVB is a publicly traded real estate investment trust (REIT) that owns, develops, redevelops and manages multifamily residential properties. The company focuses on professionally managed apartment communities, offering a range of rental housing options and related resident services. As a REIT, AvalonBay's core activities center on the acquisition and development of apartment assets and the ongoing operations and leasing of those communities.

AvalonBay's operating activities include ground-up development, strategic redevelopment of existing properties, property and asset management, and on-site leasing and resident services.

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