618,953 Shares in Mid-America Apartment Communities, Inc. (NYSE:MAA) Bought by Raymond James Financial Inc.

Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in Mid-America Apartment Communities, Inc. (NYSE:MAA) during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund bought 618,953 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock, valued at approximately $95,671,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of MAA. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new position in shares of Mid-America Apartment Communities in the 3rd quarter worth $25,000. Activest Wealth Management acquired a new position in shares of Mid-America Apartment Communities in the 3rd quarter worth $32,000. IFP Advisors Inc grew its holdings in shares of Mid-America Apartment Communities by 37.2% in the 4th quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 251 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $39,000 after acquiring an additional 68 shares during the last quarter. Quarry LP acquired a new position in shares of Mid-America Apartment Communities in the 3rd quarter worth $45,000. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. grew its holdings in shares of Mid-America Apartment Communities by 30.5% in the 4th 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 last quarter. 93.60% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Mid-America Apartment Communities Price Performance

NYSE MAA opened at $166.31 on Friday. Mid-America Apartment Communities, Inc. has a twelve month low of $123.73 and a twelve month high of $173.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.08 and a current ratio of 0.08. The stock has a market capitalization of $19.44 billion, a PE ratio of 37.12, a P/E/G ratio of 3.72 and a beta of 0.90. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $155.87 and a 200 day simple moving average of $157.21.

Mid-America Apartment Communities (NYSE:MAA) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The real estate investment trust reported $2.23 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.04 by $1.19. Mid-America Apartment Communities had a return on equity of 8.53% and a net margin of 24.03%. Research analysts anticipate that Mid-America Apartment Communities, Inc. will post 8.84 EPS for the current year.

Mid-America Apartment Communities Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 31st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, January 15th were issued a $1.515 dividend. This is a boost from Mid-America Apartment Communities’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.47. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, January 15th. This represents a $6.06 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.64%. Mid-America Apartment Communities’s dividend payout ratio is 135.27%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

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.