Huntington National Bank Increases Stock Holdings in AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB)

Huntington National Bank increased its stake in shares of AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB) by 5.7% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 30,793 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after buying an additional 1,658 shares during the quarter. Huntington National Bank’s holdings in AvalonBay Communities were worth $6,936,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of AVB. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of AvalonBay Communities in the second quarter valued at about $32,000. Versant Capital Management Inc increased its stake in AvalonBay Communities by 1,877.8% in the 2nd quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 178 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $37,000 after buying an additional 169 shares during the last quarter. BROOKFIELD Corp ON purchased a new stake in AvalonBay Communities in the 1st quarter valued at about $39,000. Mather Group LLC. lifted its position in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 38.6% during the 3rd quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 201 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $45,000 after buying an additional 56 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV boosted its stake in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 38.8% in the 2nd quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV now owns 261 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $54,000 after buying an additional 73 shares during the last quarter. 92.61% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other AvalonBay Communities news, Director Timothy J. Naughton sold 23,697 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $233.47, for a total value of $5,532,538.59. Following the sale, the director now owns 87,239 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $20,367,689.33. This trade represents a 21.36 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Company insiders own 0.42% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently commented on AVB shares. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on AvalonBay Communities from $222.00 to $244.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, August 26th. Truist Financial raised their target price on AvalonBay Communities from $213.00 to $230.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 27th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price target on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $206.00 to $249.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $212.00 to $247.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, September 16th. Finally, Scotiabank dropped their target price on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $244.00 to $241.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, AvalonBay Communities currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $226.88.

AvalonBay Communities Stock Performance

NYSE:AVB opened at $227.93 on Friday. AvalonBay Communities, Inc. has a 52-week low of $166.60 and a 52-week high of $236.26. The business’s fifty day moving average is $226.23 and its 200 day moving average is $212.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a quick ratio of 2.03 and a current ratio of 2.03. The firm has a market cap of $32.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.18, a PEG ratio of 3.36 and a beta of 0.97.

AvalonBay Communities (NYSE:AVB) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The real estate investment trust reported $2.61 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.71 by ($0.10). AvalonBay Communities had a net margin of 36.20% and a return on equity of 8.84%. The company had revenue of $734.31 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $731.67 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.66 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that AvalonBay Communities, Inc. will post 11.04 EPS for the current year.

AvalonBay Communities Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be issued a $1.70 dividend. This represents a $6.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.98%. AvalonBay Communities’s payout ratio is 93.02%.

About AvalonBay Communities

As of December 31, 2023, the Company owned or held a direct or indirect ownership interest in 299 apartment communities containing 90,669 apartment homes in 12 states and the District of Columbia, of which 18 communities were under development. The Company is an equity REIT in the business of developing, redeveloping, acquiring and managing apartment communities in leading metropolitan areas in New England, the New York/New Jersey Metro area, the Mid-Atlantic, the Pacific Northwest, and Northern and Southern California, as well as in the Company's expansion regions of Raleigh-Durham and Charlotte, North Carolina, Southeast Florida, Dallas and Austin, Texas, and Denver, Colorado.