Narwhal Capital Management Has $8.48 Million Stake in AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB)

Narwhal Capital Management lifted its position in shares of AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB - Free Report) by 607.3% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 39,515 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after acquiring an additional 33,928 shares during the quarter. Narwhal Capital Management's holdings in AvalonBay Communities were worth $8,481,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Proathlete Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of AvalonBay Communities during the 1st quarter valued at $29,000. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in AvalonBay Communities during the 1st quarter worth about $33,000. Ancora Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in 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 buying an additional 150 shares during the period. Whipplewood Advisors LLC acquired a new position in AvalonBay Communities during the 4th quarter worth about $36,000. Finally, Crowley Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new position in AvalonBay Communities during the 4th quarter worth about $44,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.61% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have commented on the company. Piper Sandler cut their target price on AvalonBay Communities from $265.00 to $255.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, May 5th. Scotiabank cut their target price on AvalonBay Communities from $251.00 to $236.00 and set a "sector perform" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, June 13th. Mizuho cut their target price on AvalonBay Communities from $238.00 to $213.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 23rd. Wall Street Zen raised AvalonBay Communities from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, June 21st. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada cut their target price on AvalonBay Communities from $223.00 to $220.00 and set a "sector perform" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 8th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $235.86.

AvalonBay Communities Trading Up 1.7%

Shares of AVB stock traded up $3.47 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $204.69. The company's stock had a trading volume of 990,062 shares, compared to its average volume of 737,860. AvalonBay Communities, Inc. has a 52 week low of $180.40 and a 52 week high of $239.29. The company has a market cap of $29.14 billion, a PE ratio of 25.49, a P/E/G ratio of 2.74 and a beta of 0.86. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $205.68 and its 200-day simple moving average is $211.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a quick ratio of 0.51 and a current ratio of 0.51.

AvalonBay Communities (NYSE:AVB - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The real estate investment trust reported $2.83 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.80 by $0.03. AvalonBay Communities had a return on equity of 9.65% and a net margin of 38.86%. The business had revenue of $693.43 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $744.61 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.70 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that AvalonBay Communities, Inc. will post 11.48 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AvalonBay Communities Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Investors of record on Monday, June 30th will be given a $1.75 dividend. This represents a $7.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.42%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 30th. AvalonBay Communities's payout ratio is 87.17%.

Insider Activity at AvalonBay Communities

In other AvalonBay Communities news, EVP Edward M. Schulman sold 5,945 shares of AvalonBay Communities stock in a transaction dated 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 now owns 17,617 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,623,288.39. The trade was a 25.23% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Kevin P. O'shea sold 6,000 shares of AvalonBay Communities 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 transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 22,782 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,728,859.74. This trade represents a 20.85% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.45% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.