Mid-America Apartment Communities, Inc. (NYSE:MAA) Shares Sold by Kentucky Retirement Systems

Kentucky Retirement Systems lessened its position in Mid-America Apartment Communities, Inc. (NYSE:MAA) by 1.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 8,032 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 110 shares during the period. Kentucky Retirement Systems’ holdings in Mid-America Apartment Communities were worth $1,242,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new stake in Mid-America Apartment Communities in the third quarter valued at about $25,000. Activest Wealth Management purchased a new position in shares of Mid-America Apartment Communities during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $32,000. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Mid-America Apartment Communities in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Quarry LP purchased a new stake in shares of Mid-America Apartment Communities in the third quarter valued at approximately $45,000. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. grew its holdings in Mid-America Apartment Communities by 30.5% during the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 321 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $50,000 after acquiring an additional 75 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.60% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have commented on MAA shares. Scotiabank raised Mid-America Apartment Communities from a “sector perform” rating to a “sector outperform” rating and raised their target price for the company from $173.00 to $182.00 in a report on Friday, February 14th. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price objective on shares of Mid-America Apartment Communities from $157.00 to $155.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. JMP Securities restated a “market outperform” rating and set a $160.00 target price on shares of Mid-America Apartment Communities in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on shares of Mid-America Apartment Communities from $155.00 to $159.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Finally, KeyCorp raised Mid-America Apartment Communities from a “sector weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $180.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $167.00.

Mid-America Apartment Communities Trading Up 0.4 %

Shares of NYSE MAA opened at $160.65 on Monday. Mid-America Apartment Communities, Inc. has a 12-month low of $123.23 and a 12-month high of $167.39. The company has a market cap of $18.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.72 and a beta of 0.91. The company has a current ratio of 0.08, a quick ratio of 0.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $153.29 and its 200 day simple moving average is $156.25.

Mid-America Apartment Communities (NYSE:MAA) last announced its quarterly 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%. Equities research analysts expect that Mid-America Apartment Communities, Inc. will post 8.84 EPS 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. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, January 15th were paid a dividend of $1.515 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, January 15th. This represents a $6.06 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.77%. This is an increase from Mid-America Apartment Communities’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.47. Mid-America Apartment Communities’s payout ratio is presently 135.27%.

Mid-America Apartment Communities 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.