1,558 Shares in AvalonBay Communities, Inc. $AVB Purchased by Magnetar Financial LLC

Key Points

• Magnetar Financial LLC acquired a new stake in AvalonBay Communities, buying 1,558 shares valued at approximately $334,000 in the first quarter.
• Wall Street analysts have recently given mixed ratings on AvalonBay Communities, with a consensus target price of $223.43, indicating a balanced outlook on the company's stock.
• Recent insider activity shows EVP Edward M. Schulman and CFO Kevin P. O'shea selling shares, contributing to a decrease in their positions of 25.23% and 20.85%, respectively.

Magnetar Financial LLC bought a new stake in AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 1,558 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock, valued at approximately $334,000.

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Achmea Investment Management B.V. boosted its stake 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 valued at $4,951,000 after purchasing an additional 5,791 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd boosted its stake 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 valued at $10,404,000 after purchasing an additional 2,243 shares during the period. Vert Asset Management LLC boosted its stake 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 valued at $14,307,000 after purchasing an additional 3,199 shares during the period. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its holdings in AvalonBay Communities by 9.1% in the 1st quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 344,505 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $73,938,000 after acquiring an additional 28,608 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GF Fund Management CO. LTD. acquired a new position in AvalonBay Communities in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $568,000. Institutional investors own 92.61% of the company's stock.

AvalonBay Communities Trading Up 1.4%

NYSE:AVB traded up $2.66 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $195.38. 600,390 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 816,002. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $195.54 and a 200 day simple moving average of $203.52. AvalonBay Communities, Inc. has a one year low of $180.40 and a one year 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 stock has a market capitalization of $27.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.81 and a beta of 0.87.

AvalonBay Communities (NYSE:AVB - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The real estate investment trust reported $2.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.80 by $0.02. The business 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 quarter last year, the firm posted $2.77 EPS. AvalonBay Communities has set its FY 2025 guidance at 11.190-11.590 EPS. Q3 2025 guidance at 2.750-2.850 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that AvalonBay Communities, Inc. will post 11.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at AvalonBay Communities

In related news, EVP Edward M. Schulman sold 5,945 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, June 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $205.67, for a total value of $1,222,708.15. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 17,617 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,623,288.39. The trade was a 25.23% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Kevin P. O'shea sold 6,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on 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 owned 22,782 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,728,859.74. This trade represents a 20.85% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.45% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AVB has been the topic of several recent research reports. Morgan Stanley upgraded AvalonBay Communities from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and reduced their price target for the stock from $228.00 to $225.00 in a research report on Wednesday, August 13th. UBS Group cut their price target on AvalonBay Communities from $238.00 to $216.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. Wall Street Zen upgraded AvalonBay Communities from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, August 2nd. Royal Bank Of Canada cut their price target on AvalonBay Communities from $216.00 to $211.00 and set a "sector perform" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 1st. Finally, Barclays dropped their target price on AvalonBay Communities from $241.00 to $228.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, August 12th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, AvalonBay Communities presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $223.43.

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.