Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. Buys 19,188 Shares of AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB)

Key Points

• Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in AvalonBay Communities, Inc. by 0.8%, now owning about 1.61% of the company, valued at approximately $490.6 million.
• AvalonBay Communities recently reported earnings per share (EPS) of $2.82, slightly surpassing the analysts' estimates, but revenue fell short of expectations at $689.9 million.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $1.75 per share, yielding 3.7%, with a reported payout ratio of 86.21%.

Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in shares of AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB - Free Report) by 0.8% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 2,285,889 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after buying an additional 19,188 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. owned approximately 1.61% of AvalonBay Communities worth $490,598,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Hsbc Holdings PLC increased its position in AvalonBay Communities by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 604,010 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $132,751,000 after buying an additional 8,439 shares during the period. Achmea Investment Management B.V. increased its position in AvalonBay Communities by 33.5% during the 1st quarter. Achmea Investment Management B.V. now owns 23,068 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $4,951,000 after buying an additional 5,791 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd increased its position in AvalonBay Communities by 4.9% during the 1st quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd now owns 48,476 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $10,404,000 after buying an additional 2,243 shares during the period. Vert Asset Management LLC increased its position in AvalonBay Communities by 5.0% during the 1st quarter. Vert Asset Management LLC now owns 66,660 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $14,307,000 after buying an additional 3,199 shares during the period. Finally, GF Fund Management CO. LTD. bought a new position in AvalonBay Communities during the 4th quarter worth $568,000. Institutional investors own 92.61% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have weighed in on AVB. UBS Group dropped their price objective on AvalonBay Communities from $238.00 to $216.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. Barclays decreased their price target on AvalonBay Communities from $241.00 to $228.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday. Scotiabank decreased their price target on AvalonBay Communities from $251.00 to $236.00 and set a "sector perform" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, June 13th. Piper Sandler restated a "neutral" rating and issued a $200.00 price target (down previously from $255.00) on shares of AvalonBay Communities in a research report on Monday, August 4th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded AvalonBay Communities from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, August 2nd. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $227.57.

AvalonBay Communities Price Performance

AvalonBay Communities stock traded up $1.05 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $186.13. The company's stock had a trading volume of 179,792 shares, compared to its average volume of 814,632. AvalonBay Communities, Inc. has a 52 week low of $180.40 and a 52 week high of $239.29. The company has a current ratio of 0.70, a quick ratio of 0.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $200.81 and a 200-day moving average price of $207.08. The stock has a market cap of $26.50 billion, a PE ratio of 22.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.51 and a beta of 0.86.

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

AvalonBay Communities Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 30th were issued a dividend of $1.75 per share. This represents a $7.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.8%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 30th. AvalonBay Communities's payout ratio is 86.21%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Kevin P. O'shea sold 6,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $207.57, for a total transaction of $1,245,420.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 22,782 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,728,859.74. The trade was 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 the SEC website. Also, EVP Edward M. Schulman sold 5,945 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the executive vice president owned 17,617 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,623,288.39. This trade represents a 25.23% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.48% of the company's stock.

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.