Leavell Investment Management Inc. Boosts Stake in Mid-America Apartment Communities, Inc. (NYSE:MAA)

Leavell Investment Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Mid-America Apartment Communities, Inc. (NYSE:MAA) by 1.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 107,133 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,061 shares during the period. Mid-America Apartment Communities comprises about 0.8% of Leavell Investment Management Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 26th largest holding. Leavell Investment Management Inc. owned about 0.09% of Mid-America Apartment Communities worth $16,559,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in MAA. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC grew its holdings in shares of Mid-America Apartment Communities by 386.3% during the 3rd quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 7,294 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $1,159,000 after acquiring an additional 5,794 shares during the period. Creative Planning grew its stake in shares of Mid-America Apartment Communities by 12.2% in the 3rd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 17,760 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $2,822,000 after buying an additional 1,928 shares during the last quarter. Swedbank AB increased its position in Mid-America Apartment Communities by 2.6% during the 3rd quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 203,587 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $32,350,000 after buying an additional 5,178 shares in the last quarter. Capital Advisors Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in Mid-America Apartment Communities by 40.3% during the third quarter. Capital Advisors Wealth Management LLC now owns 5,428 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $862,000 after buying an additional 1,558 shares during the last quarter. Finally, SeaCrest Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Mid-America Apartment Communities in the third quarter worth $1,255,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.60% of the company’s stock.

Mid-America Apartment Communities Stock Performance

Shares of MAA stock opened at $156.00 on Wednesday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $153.43 and a 200-day moving average price of $155.59. Mid-America Apartment Communities, Inc. has a 52 week low of $121.51 and a 52 week high of $167.39. The firm has a market capitalization of $18.23 billion, a PE ratio of 34.82, a P/E/G ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.91. The company has a quick ratio of 0.09, a current ratio of 0.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81.

Mid-America Apartment Communities (NYSE:MAA) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The real estate investment trust reported $2.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.04 by $1.19. Mid-America Apartment Communities had a net margin of 24.03% and a return on equity of 8.53%. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Mid-America Apartment Communities, Inc. will post 8.86 earnings per share for the current year.

Mid-America Apartment Communities Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 31st. Investors of record on Wednesday, January 15th were given a dividend of $1.515 per share. This represents a $6.06 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.88%. This is a positive change from Mid-America Apartment Communities’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.47. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, January 15th. Mid-America Apartment Communities’s payout ratio is 135.27%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on MAA. JMP Securities restated a “market outperform” rating and set a $160.00 price target on shares of Mid-America Apartment Communities in a report on Tuesday. Raymond James upgraded shares of Mid-America Apartment Communities from a “market perform” rating to a “strong-buy” rating and set a $175.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on shares of Mid-America Apartment Communities from $158.00 to $161.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on shares of Mid-America Apartment Communities from $174.00 to $164.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Barclays decreased their target price on shares of Mid-America Apartment Communities from $166.00 to $152.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 24th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $166.00.

Mid-America Apartment Communities Company Profile

Mid-America Apartment Communities, Inc is a real estate investment trust, which engages in the operation, acquisition, and development of apartment communities. It operates through the Same Store and Non-Same Store segments. The Same Store Communities segment represents those apartment communities that have been owned and stabilized for at least 12 months as of the first day of the calendar year.