Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. Acquires 39,348 Shares of AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB)

Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB) by 2.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,513,327 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after purchasing an additional 39,348 shares during the quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in AvalonBay Communities were worth $283,325,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System raised its holdings in AvalonBay Communities by 3.4% in the fourth quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System now owns 11,027 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $2,064,000 after buying an additional 358 shares during the last quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC raised its holdings in AvalonBay Communities by 12.0% in the 4th quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 2,031 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $380,000 after acquiring an additional 217 shares during the last quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC lifted its position in AvalonBay Communities by 5.2% in the 4th quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC now owns 19,255 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $3,605,000 after acquiring an additional 959 shares in the last quarter. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in AvalonBay Communities by 4.2% during the 4th quarter. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,252 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $422,000 after purchasing an additional 91 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Malaga Cove Capital LLC increased its holdings in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 8.7% in the 4th quarter. Malaga Cove Capital LLC now owns 13,522 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $2,532,000 after purchasing an additional 1,078 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.61% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Kevin P. O’shea sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $185.65, for a total transaction of $928,250.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 31,308 shares in the company, valued at $5,812,330.20. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, CFO Kevin P. O’shea sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $185.65, for a total transaction of $928,250.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 31,308 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,812,330.20. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Joanne M. Lockridge sold 1,750 shares of AvalonBay Communities stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 directly owns 21,907 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,054,985.70. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.48% of the company’s stock.

AvalonBay Communities Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:AVB opened at $194.90 on Thursday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $184.93 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $179.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 1.44 and a quick ratio of 1.44. The company has a market capitalization of $27.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.00, a P/E/G ratio of 3.28 and a beta of 0.90. AvalonBay Communities, Inc. has a 1-year low of $160.45 and a 1-year high of $198.65.

AvalonBay Communities (NYSE:AVB) last released its earnings results on Friday, April 26th. The real estate investment trust reported $1.22 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.64 by ($1.42). AvalonBay Communities had a net margin of 34.05% and a return on equity of 8.12%. The firm had revenue of $712.86 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $706.61 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.57 EPS. Research analysts expect that AvalonBay Communities, Inc. will post 10.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently commented on AVB shares. Morgan Stanley raised AvalonBay Communities from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $175.00 to $191.50 in a research report on Monday, February 26th. Piper Sandler lifted their price target on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $207.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, April 29th. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $191.00 target price on shares of AvalonBay Communities in a report on Thursday, February 22nd. Argus boosted their target price on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $188.00 to $212.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 30th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on AvalonBay Communities from $191.00 to $196.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Monday, April 29th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, AvalonBay Communities has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $200.50.

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.