First Financial Corp IN Reduces Position in AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB)

First Financial Corp IN reduced its position in shares of AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB) by 19.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 250 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 59 shares during the period. First Financial Corp IN’s holdings in AvalonBay Communities were worth $55,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its stake in AvalonBay Communities by 678.9% in the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 1,715,050 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $386,315,000 after buying an additional 1,494,872 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of AvalonBay Communities in the 3rd quarter valued at about $581,960,000. State Street Corp raised its position in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 2.2% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 9,245,028 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $2,097,971,000 after acquiring an additional 196,938 shares in the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC lifted its stake in AvalonBay Communities by 958.9% during the third quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 172,618 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $38,882,000 after purchasing an additional 156,316 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Artemis Investment Management LLP purchased a new stake in AvalonBay Communities during the third quarter worth approximately $29,256,000. 92.61% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at AvalonBay Communities

In other news, Director Timothy J. Naughton sold 23,697 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $233.47, for a total value of $5,532,538.59. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 87,239 shares in the company, valued at $20,367,689.33. This trade represents a 21.36 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.42% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

AvalonBay Communities Stock Performance

NYSE:AVB opened at $216.20 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a current ratio of 1.64 and a quick ratio of 1.64. The firm has a market cap of $30.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.30 and a beta of 0.99. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $225.31 and its 200 day moving average price is $220.42. AvalonBay Communities, Inc. has a 1-year low of $169.37 and a 1-year high of $239.29.

AvalonBay Communities (NYSE:AVB) last released its earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The real estate investment trust reported $2.61 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.71 by ($0.10). AvalonBay Communities had a return on equity of 8.84% and a net margin of 36.20%. The firm had revenue of $734.31 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $731.67 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.66 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that AvalonBay Communities, Inc. will post 11.03 EPS for the current year.

AvalonBay Communities Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be paid a dividend of $1.70 per share. This represents a $6.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.15%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 31st. AvalonBay Communities’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 93.02%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have commented on AVB shares. Scotiabank dropped their price target 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, November 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of AvalonBay Communities from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $247.00 to $262.00 in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. Barclays assumed coverage on shares of AvalonBay Communities in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $243.00 price target for the company. Mizuho raised AvalonBay Communities from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $239.00 to $242.00 in a report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reduced their target price on AvalonBay Communities from $234.00 to $233.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $234.53.

AvalonBay Communities Profile

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.