California Public Employees Retirement System Has $65.69 Million Stock Holdings in AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB)

California Public Employees Retirement System lessened its position in AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB) by 0.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 350,879 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 1,144 shares during the quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System’s holdings in AvalonBay Communities were worth $65,692,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of AVB. Castleview Partners LLC increased its position in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 1,542.9% during the 3rd quarter. Castleview Partners LLC now owns 230 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 216 shares during the last quarter. Arlington Trust Co LLC acquired a new position in shares of AvalonBay Communities during the 4th quarter worth approximately $45,000. Lindbrook Capital LLC increased its position in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 53.7% during the 3rd quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 312 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $54,000 after purchasing an additional 109 shares during the last quarter. Sandy Spring Bank increased its position in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 4,428.6% during the 3rd quarter. Sandy Spring Bank now owns 317 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $54,000 after purchasing an additional 310 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bear Mountain Capital Inc. acquired a new position in shares of AvalonBay Communities during the 4th quarter worth approximately $66,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.61% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have weighed in on AVB. Mizuho lowered their price target on AvalonBay Communities from $188.00 to $185.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 28th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and set a $185.00 target price on shares of AvalonBay Communities in a report on Friday, February 2nd. KeyCorp reissued a “sector weight” rating on shares of AvalonBay Communities in a report on Friday, January 5th. Barclays raised AvalonBay Communities from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $194.00 to $204.00 in a report on Tuesday, February 20th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $191.00 target price on shares of AvalonBay Communities in a report on Thursday, February 22nd. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $196.78.

AvalonBay Communities Price Performance

AvalonBay Communities stock opened at $191.30 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 1.44 and a current ratio of 1.44. AvalonBay Communities, Inc. has a 52 week low of $160.45 and a 52 week high of $198.65. The stock has a market capitalization of $27.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.56 and a beta of 0.92. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $182.37 and a 200-day moving average of $178.52.

AvalonBay Communities (NYSE:AVB) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 6th. The real estate investment trust reported $1.70 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.73 by ($1.03). AvalonBay Communities had a return on equity of 7.98% and a net margin of 33.56%. The business had revenue of $704.71 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $701.67 million. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.59 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that AvalonBay Communities, Inc. will post 10.8 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AvalonBay Communities Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 28th were paid a $1.70 dividend. This is a boost from AvalonBay Communities’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.65. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 27th. This represents a $6.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.55%. AvalonBay Communities’s dividend payout ratio is presently 103.82%.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Joanne M. Lockridge sold 1,750 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $185.10, for a total value of $323,925.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 21,907 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,054,985.70. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In related news, EVP Joanne M. Lockridge sold 1,750 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $185.10, for a total transaction of $323,925.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 21,907 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,054,985.70. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Kevin P. O’shea sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $185.65, for a total value of $928,250.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 31,308 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,812,330.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.42% of the company’s stock.

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.