Vanguard Group Inc. Trims Stake in Mid-America Apartment Communities, Inc. (NYSE:MAA)

Vanguard Group Inc. cut its position in Mid-America Apartment Communities, Inc. (NYSE:MAA) by 0.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 18,486,210 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 29,255 shares during the quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. owned approximately 15.82% of Mid-America Apartment Communities worth $2,857,413,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MAA. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Mid-America Apartment Communities during the third quarter worth approximately $2,890,000. Metis Global Partners LLC increased its stake in Mid-America Apartment Communities by 9.5% in the 4th quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC now owns 17,273 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $2,670,000 after buying an additional 1,499 shares during the period. Swedbank AB raised 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 worth $32,350,000 after buying an additional 5,178 shares during the last quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of Mid-America Apartment Communities by 2.4% in the 3rd quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 180,689 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $28,711,000 after acquiring an additional 4,301 shares during the period. Finally, Paradigm Asset Management Co. LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Mid-America Apartment Communities by 1,582.9% in the fourth quarter. Paradigm Asset Management Co. LLC now owns 6,698 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $1,035,000 after acquiring an additional 6,300 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.60% of the company’s stock.

Mid-America Apartment Communities Price Performance

MAA stock opened at $163.19 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $19.08 billion, a PE ratio of 36.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.72 and a beta of 0.90. 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 has a 50-day moving average price of $158.72 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $157.48. Mid-America Apartment Communities, Inc. has a 12-month low of $123.73 and a 12-month high of $173.38.

Mid-America Apartment Communities (NYSE:MAA) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The real estate investment trust reported $2.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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, research analysts predict that Mid-America Apartment Communities, Inc. will post 8.84 EPS for the current year.

Mid-America Apartment Communities Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 15th will be issued a $1.515 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 15th. This represents a $6.06 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.71%. Mid-America Apartment Communities’s dividend payout ratio is currently 135.27%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. Evercore ISI raised their price objective 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. Raymond James lifted their price target on Mid-America Apartment Communities from $180.00 to $185.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. Barclays upped their price objective on Mid-America Apartment Communities from $152.00 to $163.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Morgan Stanley raised Mid-America Apartment Communities from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their target price for the company from $159.50 to $168.00 in a report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on shares of Mid-America Apartment Communities from $158.00 to $161.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $168.90.

About Mid-America Apartment Communities

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.