Vert Asset Management LLC Buys Shares of 3,018 Mid-America Apartment Communities, Inc. (NYSE:MAA)

Vert Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Mid-America Apartment Communities, Inc. (NYSE:MAA) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 3,018 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock, valued at approximately $397,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. LPL Financial LLC raised its holdings in Mid-America Apartment Communities by 83.3% in the 3rd quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 37,072 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $4,769,000 after purchasing an additional 16,842 shares during the period. Mariner LLC raised its holdings in Mid-America Apartment Communities by 10.2% during the third quarter. Mariner LLC now owns 15,841 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $2,038,000 after acquiring an additional 1,465 shares during the period. Stifel Financial Corp increased its holdings in shares of Mid-America Apartment Communities by 7.8% in the third quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 13,890 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $1,787,000 after purchasing an additional 1,010 shares during the last quarter. Covestor Ltd increased its holdings in shares of Mid-America Apartment Communities by 71.9% in the third quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 667 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $86,000 after purchasing an additional 279 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Treasurer of the State of North Carolina increased its holdings in shares of Mid-America Apartment Communities by 0.4% in the third quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 52,478 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $6,751,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. 93.60% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Mid-America Apartment Communities Stock Up 0.5 %

Mid-America Apartment Communities stock traded up $0.69 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $139.83. 42,673 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 793,308. The business has a fifty day moving average of $134.78 and a 200 day moving average of $131.98. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74, a quick ratio of 0.12 and a current ratio of 0.12. The firm has a market cap of $16.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.17, a PEG ratio of 3.14 and a beta of 0.84. Mid-America Apartment Communities, Inc. has a 12-month low of $115.56 and a 12-month high of $158.46.

Mid-America Apartment Communities (NYSE:MAA) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 2nd. The real estate investment trust reported $1.22 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.23 by ($1.01). Mid-America Apartment Communities had a net margin of 25.92% and a return on equity of 8.90%. The business had revenue of $543.60 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $541.44 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.28 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.8% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts anticipate that Mid-America Apartment Communities, Inc. will post 8.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Mid-America Apartment Communities Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, July 15th will be issued a dividend of $1.47 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, July 15th. This represents a $5.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.21%. Mid-America Apartment Communities’s dividend payout ratio is presently 123.27%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO H Eric Bolton, Jr. sold 2,642 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, April 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $126.07, for a total value of $333,076.94. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 317,737 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $40,057,103.59. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In the last quarter, insiders sold 2,807 shares of company stock worth $353,955. Insiders own 1.30% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently commented on MAA shares. Scotiabank lifted their price target on Mid-America Apartment Communities from $139.00 to $144.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 14th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Mid-America Apartment Communities from $129.00 to $138.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, May 31st. Janney Montgomery Scott upgraded Mid-America Apartment Communities from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $150.00 target price for the company in a research report on Thursday, June 13th. Wedbush raised Mid-America Apartment Communities from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their target price for the company from $135.00 to $154.00 in a research note on Monday, May 6th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Mid-America Apartment Communities from $129.50 to $138.50 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 15th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $142.44.

Mid-America Apartment Communities Profile

MAA, an S&P 500 company, is a real estate investment trust (REIT) focused on delivering full-cycle and superior investment performance for shareholders through the ownership, management, acquisition, development and redevelopment of quality apartment communities primarily in the Southeast, Southwest and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States.