Ethic Inc. Acquires 1,931 Shares of AvalonBay Communities, Inc. $AVB

Key Points

• Ethic Inc. increased its stake in AvalonBay Communities by 13.8%, acquiring an additional 1,931 shares, bringing its total to 15,886 shares valued at approximately $3.41 million.
• AvalonBay recently announced a quarterly dividend of $1.75 per share, equating to a 3.7% yield with a payout ratio of 86.21%.
• The stock has experienced fluctuations, with a 12-month high of $239.29 and a low of $180.40, and analysts currently rate it as a "Hold" with an average price target of $225.64.

Ethic Inc. boosted its position in shares of AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB - Free Report) by 13.8% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 15,886 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after acquiring an additional 1,931 shares during the period. Ethic Inc.'s holdings in AvalonBay Communities were worth $3,408,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its holdings in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 35.0% in the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 5,152,183 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $1,133,328,000 after acquiring an additional 1,336,698 shares in the last quarter. Nuveen LLC bought a new position in shares of AvalonBay Communities in the first quarter worth approximately $280,226,000. Northern Trust Corp lifted its position in AvalonBay Communities by 54.8% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 2,642,743 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $581,324,000 after purchasing an additional 935,770 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position in AvalonBay Communities by 21,024.3% during 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 during the last quarter. Finally, Adelante Capital Management LLC grew its stake in AvalonBay Communities by 1,186.4% in the 4th quarter. Adelante Capital Management LLC now owns 400,444 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $88,086,000 after buying an additional 369,316 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.61% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Piper Sandler restated a "neutral" rating and set a $200.00 price objective (down previously from $255.00) on shares of AvalonBay Communities in a research report on Monday, August 4th. Scotiabank dropped their price target on AvalonBay Communities from $236.00 to $226.00 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, August 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on AvalonBay Communities from $251.00 to $249.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, June 17th. Royal Bank Of Canada reduced their price objective on 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. Finally, UBS Group dropped their target price on AvalonBay Communities from $238.00 to $216.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, July 15th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, AvalonBay Communities currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $225.64.

AvalonBay Communities Trading Down 0.4%

AvalonBay Communities stock traded down $0.8550 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $190.5950. The stock had a trading volume of 843,363 shares, compared to its average volume of 822,483. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $198.95 and a 200-day simple moving average of $205.93. AvalonBay Communities, Inc. has a 52 week low of $180.40 and a 52 week high of $239.29. The stock has a market cap of $27.14 billion, a PE ratio of 23.47, a PEG ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 0.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 0.70 and a quick ratio of 0.70.

AvalonBay Communities (NYSE:AVB - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 firm 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 period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.77 earnings per share. AvalonBay Communities has set its FY 2025 guidance at 11.190-11.590 EPS. Q3 2025 guidance at 2.750-2.850 EPS. Analysts forecast that AvalonBay Communities, Inc. will post 11.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at AvalonBay Communities

In other news, CFO Kevin P. O'shea sold 6,000 shares of AvalonBay Communities stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $207.57, for a total value 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. This trade represents a 20.85% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Edward M. Schulman sold 5,945 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, June 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $205.67, for a total transaction of $1,222,708.15. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 17,617 shares of the company's stock, valued at $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. Company insiders own 0.48% of the company's stock.

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.