Figure 8 Investment Strategies LLC Purchases New Shares in AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB)

Figure 8 Investment Strategies LLC purchased a new position in AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund purchased 5,928 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock, valued at approximately $1,272,000.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of AVB. Proathlete Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in AvalonBay Communities in the first quarter worth approximately $29,000. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in AvalonBay Communities in the 1st quarter worth $33,000. Ancora Advisors LLC lifted its position in AvalonBay Communities by 1,666.7% during the fourth quarter. Ancora Advisors LLC now owns 159 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 150 shares in the last quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC bought a new stake in AvalonBay Communities during the fourth quarter valued at about $36,000. Finally, Crowley Wealth Management Inc. bought a new stake in AvalonBay Communities during the fourth quarter valued at about $44,000. Institutional investors own 92.61% of the company's stock.

AvalonBay Communities Trading Up 0.2%

AvalonBay Communities stock opened at $206.92 on Monday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $205.36 and a 200 day moving average price of $212.34. The company has a market capitalization of $29.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.82 and a beta of 0.86. AvalonBay Communities, Inc. has a 52 week low of $180.40 and a 52 week high of $239.29. The company has a quick ratio of 0.51, a current ratio of 0.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70.

AvalonBay Communities (NYSE:AVB - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The real estate investment trust reported $2.83 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.80 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $693.43 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $744.61 million. AvalonBay Communities had a net margin of 38.86% and a return on equity of 9.65%. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $2.70 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that AvalonBay Communities, Inc. will post 11.48 EPS for the current year.

AvalonBay Communities Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 30th will be issued a $1.75 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 30th. This represents a $7.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.38%. AvalonBay Communities's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 87.17%.

Insider Transactions at AvalonBay Communities

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AVB has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Scotiabank reduced their price objective 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. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $226.00 to $228.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 15th. Truist Financial upped their target price on AvalonBay Communities from $229.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, March 10th. Barclays raised their price objective on AvalonBay Communities from $227.00 to $240.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, May 9th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets downgraded shares of AvalonBay Communities from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating and set a $220.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Friday, April 4th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $235.86.

AvalonBay Communities Company 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.

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