Calamos Advisors LLC Reduces Stock Position in AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB)

Calamos Advisors LLC cut its holdings in shares of AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB) by 1.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 50,149 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 655 shares during the quarter. Calamos Advisors LLC’s holdings in AvalonBay Communities were worth $9,389,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Neo Ivy Capital Management acquired a new position in shares of AvalonBay Communities in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $3,610,000. Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. grew its position in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 2.1% in the 4th quarter. Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. now owns 248,699 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $46,561,000 after acquiring an additional 5,061 shares in the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. grew its position in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 2.2% in the 4th quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. now owns 994,505 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $186,191,000 after acquiring an additional 21,760 shares in the last quarter. Sterling Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of AvalonBay Communities in the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,625,000. Finally, Glenmede Trust Co. NA grew its position in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 55.5% in the 3rd quarter. Glenmede Trust Co. NA now owns 2,890 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $496,000 after acquiring an additional 1,031 shares in the last quarter. 92.61% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at AvalonBay Communities

In related news, EVP Joanne M. Lockridge sold 1,750 shares of the firm’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 completion of the transaction, 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 document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other news, CFO Kevin P. O’shea sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 sale, 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 document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Joanne M. Lockridge sold 1,750 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $185.10, for a total value of $323,925.00. Following 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. Company insiders own 0.42% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently commented on the company. Barclays upgraded AvalonBay Communities from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $194.00 to $204.00 in a research report on Tuesday, February 20th. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “neutral” rating and set a $191.00 price objective on shares of AvalonBay Communities in a research report on Thursday, February 22nd. Wolfe Research lowered AvalonBay Communities from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 2nd. KeyCorp restated a “sector weight” rating on shares of AvalonBay Communities in a research report on Friday, January 5th. Finally, Mizuho reduced their price objective on AvalonBay Communities from $188.00 to $185.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 28th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, AvalonBay Communities presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $196.78.

AvalonBay Communities Trading Up 1.2 %

Shares of AVB stock opened at $184.13 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $181.15 and a 200 day simple moving average of $177.96. AvalonBay Communities, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $160.45 and a fifty-two week high of $198.65. The stock has a market capitalization of $26.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.11, a P/E/G ratio of 3.39 and a beta of 0.92. The company has a quick ratio of 1.44, a current ratio of 1.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68.

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). AvalonBay Communities had a net margin of 33.56% and a return on equity of 7.98%. The firm had revenue of $704.71 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $701.67 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $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 company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 28th were paid a dividend of $1.70 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 27th. This represents a $6.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.69%. This is a boost from AvalonBay Communities’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.65. AvalonBay Communities’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 103.82%.

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.