AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB) is Sunesis Advisors LLC’s 9th Largest Position

Sunesis Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB) by 382.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 16,827 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after buying an additional 13,338 shares during the quarter. AvalonBay Communities comprises approximately 1.9% of Sunesis Advisors LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 9th largest position. Sunesis Advisors LLC’s holdings in AvalonBay Communities were worth $3,150,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. BlackRock Inc. lifted its position in AvalonBay Communities by 0.4% in the second quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 15,723,924 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $2,976,067,000 after buying an additional 69,187 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its position in AvalonBay Communities by 0.6% in the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 10,147,624 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $1,937,005,000 after buying an additional 60,027 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in AvalonBay Communities in the fourth quarter worth $1,001,550,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its position in AvalonBay Communities by 18.5% in the first quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 4,863,429 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $817,348,000 after buying an additional 759,388 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its position in AvalonBay Communities by 2.3% in the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 4,833,571 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $812,332,000 after buying an additional 106,604 shares during the last quarter. 92.61% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently issued reports on AVB shares. KeyCorp restated a “sector weight” rating on shares of AvalonBay Communities in a research report on Friday, January 5th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and set a $185.00 target price on shares of AvalonBay Communities in a research report on Friday, February 2nd. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on AvalonBay Communities from $183.00 to $188.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 30th. Wolfe Research downgraded AvalonBay Communities from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 2nd. Finally, Piper Sandler restated an “overweight” rating and set a $207.00 price target on shares of AvalonBay Communities in a research note on Tuesday. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $197.03.

AvalonBay Communities Stock Performance

AvalonBay Communities stock traded up $1.87 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $185.56. The company had a trading volume of 730,692 shares, compared to its average volume of 752,563. The company has a current ratio of 1.44, a quick ratio of 1.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68. AvalonBay Communities, Inc. has a 12-month low of $159.57 and a 12-month high of $198.65. The company’s fifty day moving average is $179.13 and its 200-day moving average is $177.41. The company has a market capitalization of $26.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.33, a P/E/G ratio of 3.41 and a beta of 0.92.

AvalonBay Communities (NYSE:AVB) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 6th. The real estate investment trust reported $1.70 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.73 by ($1.03). The business had revenue of $704.71 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $701.67 million. AvalonBay Communities had a return on equity of 7.98% and a net margin of 33.56%. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.59 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that AvalonBay Communities, Inc. will post 10.82 EPS for the current year.

AvalonBay Communities Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 28th will be paid a $1.70 dividend. This is an increase from AvalonBay Communities’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.65. This represents a $6.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.66%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, March 27th. AvalonBay Communities’s dividend payout ratio is currently 103.82%.

Insider Activity at AvalonBay Communities

In related news, EVP Joanne M. Lockridge sold 1,750 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 21,907 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,054,985.70. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other AvalonBay Communities news, CFO Kevin P. O’shea sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $185.65, for a total value of $928,250.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 31,308 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,812,330.20. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Joanne M. Lockridge sold 1,750 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $4,054,985.70. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.42% of the stock is owned by corporate 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.