Uniplan Investment Counsel Inc. Sells 4,902 Shares of AvalonBay Communities, Inc. $AVB

Key Points

• Uniplan Investment Counsel Inc. sold 4,902 shares of AvalonBay Communities, reducing its holdings by 7.1%, leaving it with a total of 64,424 shares valued at approximately $13.8 million.
• Insider selling is notable, with executives Edward M. Schulman and Kevin P. O'Shea each selling shares, indicating a significant decrease in their ownership by 25.23% and 20.85% respectively.
• Despite the recent insider trades, bullish sentiment remains from analysts, with six rating the stock as a Buy and a current average target price of $223.43, though several analysts have lowered their price targets.

Uniplan Investment Counsel Inc. lowered its holdings in shares of AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB - Free Report) by 7.1% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 64,424 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after selling 4,902 shares during the quarter. AvalonBay Communities accounts for about 1.3% of Uniplan Investment Counsel Inc.'s portfolio, making the stock its 19th biggest position. Uniplan Investment Counsel Inc.'s holdings in AvalonBay Communities were worth $13,827,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Achmea Investment Management B.V. raised its holdings 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 worth $4,951,000 after buying an additional 5,791 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd increased its position in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 4.9% during the first quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd now owns 48,476 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $10,404,000 after acquiring an additional 2,243 shares in the last quarter. Vert Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 5.0% during the first quarter. Vert Asset Management LLC now owns 66,660 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $14,307,000 after acquiring an additional 3,199 shares during the period. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its position 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 worth $568,000. 92.61% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Edward M. Schulman sold 5,945 shares of AvalonBay Communities stock in a transaction dated 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 owned 17,617 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,623,288.39. This trade represents a 25.23% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Kevin P. O'shea sold 6,000 shares of the business'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 transaction, the chief financial officer owned 22,782 shares in the company, valued at $4,728,859.74. This represents a 20.85% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.45% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on AVB shares. Royal Bank Of Canada lowered their target price on AvalonBay Communities from $216.00 to $211.00 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 1st. Morgan Stanley upgraded AvalonBay Communities from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $228.00 to $225.00 in a report on Wednesday, August 13th. Barclays cut their target price on AvalonBay Communities from $241.00 to $228.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, August 12th. Mizuho reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and set a $199.00 price target (down from $213.00) on shares of AvalonBay Communities in a research note on Thursday, August 14th. Finally, Scotiabank lowered their price objective on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $236.00 to $226.00 and set a "sector perform" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, August 14th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $223.43.

AvalonBay Communities Stock Up 1.4%

AVB stock opened at $195.38 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $27.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.06, a P/E/G ratio of 2.81 and a beta of 0.87. AvalonBay Communities, Inc. has a twelve month low of $180.40 and a twelve month high of $239.29. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $195.54 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $203.52. The company has a quick ratio of 0.70, a current ratio of 0.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71.

AvalonBay Communities (NYSE:AVB - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 30th. The real estate investment trust reported $2.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.80 by $0.02. AvalonBay Communities had a return on equity of 9.70% and a net margin of 38.91%.The company had revenue of $689.90 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $759.08 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business 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. Analysts anticipate that AvalonBay Communities, Inc. will post 11.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.

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