Hilltop National Bank Purchases 375 Shares of AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB)

Hilltop National Bank increased its holdings in shares of AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB) by 10.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 4,018 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after acquiring an additional 375 shares during the period. Hilltop National Bank’s holdings in AvalonBay Communities were worth $884,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Caprock Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of AvalonBay Communities during the second quarter worth $236,000. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC increased its holdings in AvalonBay Communities by 4.2% in the second quarter. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC now owns 3,084 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $638,000 after purchasing an additional 124 shares during the last quarter. PFG Investments LLC bought a new stake in shares of AvalonBay Communities in the 2nd quarter valued at about $214,000. Wedbush Securities Inc. boosted its position in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 7.1% during the second quarter. Wedbush Securities Inc. now owns 3,232 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $669,000 after purchasing an additional 213 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Choreo LLC bought a new position in AvalonBay Communities during the second quarter worth about $450,000. 92.61% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AVB has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Evercore ISI raised their price target on AvalonBay Communities from $225.00 to $229.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Mizuho raised shares of AvalonBay Communities from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $239.00 to $242.00 in a research report on Monday. 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 objective on the stock. Scotiabank lowered their target price on AvalonBay Communities from $244.00 to $241.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, November 14th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada cut their price target on AvalonBay Communities from $234.00 to $233.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $234.53.

AvalonBay Communities Stock Performance

NYSE AVB traded up $0.72 on Friday, hitting $213.09. 223,708 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 426,856. The company has a market capitalization of $30.31 billion, a PE ratio of 29.15, a P/E/G ratio of 3.30 and a beta of 0.99. 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 business’s fifty day moving average is $225.46 and its 200 day moving average is $220.09. AvalonBay Communities, Inc. has a 52 week low of $169.37 and a 52 week high of $239.29.

AvalonBay Communities (NYSE:AVB) last issued its earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The real estate investment trust reported $2.61 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.71 by ($0.10). AvalonBay Communities had a net margin of 36.20% and a return on equity of 8.84%. The firm had revenue of $734.31 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $731.67 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.66 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that AvalonBay Communities, Inc. will post 11.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AvalonBay Communities Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be issued a dividend of $1.70 per share. This represents a $6.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.19%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 31st. AvalonBay Communities’s payout ratio is presently 93.02%.

Insider Activity at AvalonBay Communities

In related news, Director Timothy J. Naughton sold 23,697 shares of AvalonBay Communities stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $233.47, for a total transaction of $5,532,538.59. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 87,239 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $20,367,689.33. This trade represents a 21.36 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.42% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.