KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS Acquires 3,400 Shares of AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB)

KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS grew its holdings in shares of AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB - Free Report) by 7.4% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 49,479 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after purchasing an additional 3,400 shares during the period. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS's holdings in AvalonBay Communities were worth $10,693,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in AVB. Proathlete Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in AvalonBay Communities in the 1st quarter worth approximately $29,000. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of AvalonBay Communities during the 1st quarter worth $33,000. Ancora Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 1,666.7% during the 4th quarter. Ancora Advisors LLC now owns 159 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 150 shares during the last quarter. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of AvalonBay Communities during the 4th quarter worth $53,000. Finally, Continuum Advisory LLC boosted its stake in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 12,200.0% during the 4th quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC now owns 246 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $54,000 after acquiring an additional 244 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.61% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on AVB. Piper Sandler dropped their price target on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $265.00 to $255.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, May 5th. Scotiabank lowered their target price on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $251.00 to $236.00 and set a "sector perform" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, June 13th. BMO Capital Markets cut shares of AvalonBay Communities from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating and set a $220.00 target price on the stock. in a research note on Friday, April 4th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of AvalonBay Communities from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Sunday, June 29th. Finally, Barclays lifted their target price on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $240.00 to $241.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 15th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $235.07.

AvalonBay Communities Price Performance

Shares of NYSE AVB traded up $0.21 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $201.80. The company had a trading volume of 310,968 shares, compared to its average volume of 719,770. The company has a quick ratio of 0.51, a current ratio of 0.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $203.87 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $209.15. AvalonBay Communities, Inc. has a twelve month low of $180.40 and a twelve month high of $239.29. The firm has a market capitalization of $28.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.85.

AvalonBay Communities (NYSE:AVB - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The real estate investment trust reported $2.83 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.80 by $0.03. AvalonBay Communities had a net margin of 38.86% and a return on equity of 9.65%. The firm had revenue of $693.43 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $744.61 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.70 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that AvalonBay Communities, Inc. will post 11.48 earnings per share 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 3.47%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 30th. AvalonBay Communities's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 87.17%.

Insider Buying and Selling at AvalonBay Communities

In other AvalonBay Communities news, CFO Kevin P. O'shea sold 6,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 22,782 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,728,859.74. This represents a 20.85% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 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. The trade was a 25.23% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.45% 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.