Ascent Group LLC Sells 223 Shares of Mid-America Apartment Communities, Inc. (NYSE:MAA)

Ascent Group LLC trimmed its position in shares of Mid-America Apartment Communities, Inc. (NYSE:MAA) by 11.5% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 1,717 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 223 shares during the period. Ascent Group LLC’s holdings in Mid-America Apartment Communities were worth $273,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. boosted its position in shares of Mid-America Apartment Communities by 5.4% in the 1st quarter. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 1,762 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $227,000 after purchasing an additional 90 shares in the last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers boosted its position in shares of Mid-America Apartment Communities by 33.0% in the 1st quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 51,421 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $6,766,000 after purchasing an additional 12,773 shares in the last quarter. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Mid-America Apartment Communities in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $4,327,000. Gilman Hill Asset Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Mid-America Apartment Communities by 5.8% in the 2nd quarter. Gilman Hill Asset Management LLC now owns 3,669 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $523,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. Finally, QRG Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Mid-America Apartment Communities by 12.8% in the 2nd quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 30,516 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $4,352,000 after purchasing an additional 3,451 shares in the last quarter. 93.60% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Mid-America Apartment Communities Price Performance

Shares of MAA opened at $160.04 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $18.71 billion, a PE ratio of 36.13, a P/E/G ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 0.90. The company has a current ratio of 0.09, a quick ratio of 0.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $156.63 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $150.52. Mid-America Apartment Communities, Inc. has a 1-year low of $121.51 and a 1-year high of $167.39.

Mid-America Apartment Communities (NYSE:MAA) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.98 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.18 by ($1.20). The company had revenue of $551.13 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $548.53 million. Mid-America Apartment Communities had a return on equity of 8.38% and a net margin of 23.84%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.29 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Mid-America Apartment Communities, Inc. will post 8.88 EPS for the current year.

Mid-America Apartment Communities Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 31st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, October 15th were paid a $1.47 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, October 15th. This represents a $5.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.67%. Mid-America Apartment Communities’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 132.73%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently commented on the company. BNP Paribas assumed coverage on Mid-America Apartment Communities in a research report on Wednesday, September 11th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $169.00 price target on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company raised Mid-America Apartment Communities from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $138.00 to $174.00 in a research report on Monday, August 26th. Bank of America raised Mid-America Apartment Communities from an “underperform” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $144.00 to $189.00 in a research report on Monday, August 12th. StockNews.com cut Mid-America Apartment Communities from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on Mid-America Apartment Communities in a research report on Wednesday, September 4th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $187.00 price objective on the stock. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $162.68.

About Mid-America Apartment Communities

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.