H Eric Bolton, Jr. Sells 4,358 Shares of Mid-America Apartment Communities, Inc. (NYSE:MAA) Stock

Mid-America Apartment Communities, Inc. (NYSE:MAA) CEO H Eric Bolton, Jr. sold 4,358 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $166.24, for a total transaction of $724,473.92. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 324,171 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $53,890,187.04. This represents a 1.33 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink.

Mid-America Apartment Communities Price Performance

Shares of MAA opened at $153.15 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 0.08 and a quick ratio of 0.08. Mid-America Apartment Communities, Inc. has a 1-year low of $123.73 and a 1-year high of $173.38. The stock has a market cap of $17.90 billion, a PE ratio of 34.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.72 and a beta of 0.90. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $161.14 and a 200 day moving average price of $157.53.

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 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%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Mid-America Apartment Communities, Inc. will post 8.84 EPS for the current year.

Mid-America Apartment Communities Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 15th will be issued a $1.515 dividend. This represents a $6.06 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.96%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 15th. Mid-America Apartment Communities’s payout ratio is currently 135.27%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Mid-America Apartment Communities

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Mid-America Apartment Communities during the 4th quarter worth $826,562,000. Capital World Investors boosted its stake in shares of Mid-America Apartment Communities by 45.9% during the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 6,636,915 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $1,025,868,000 after buying an additional 2,088,143 shares during the period. Deutsche Bank AG grew its holdings in shares of Mid-America Apartment Communities by 312.6% during the fourth quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 1,226,026 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $189,507,000 after buying an additional 928,851 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its position in Mid-America Apartment Communities by 26.9% in the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 3,344,862 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $517,015,000 after acquiring an additional 708,125 shares during the period. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in Mid-America Apartment Communities during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $95,671,000. 93.60% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have issued reports on MAA. Barclays upped their target price on Mid-America Apartment Communities from $152.00 to $163.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Scotiabank raised shares of 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 research report on Friday, February 14th. Jefferies Financial Group raised Mid-America Apartment Communities from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the company from $148.00 to $190.00 in a research note on Monday, March 10th. Mizuho dropped their price target on shares of Mid-America Apartment Communities from $163.00 to $159.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Raymond James boosted their price target on shares of 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. 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 assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $168.90.

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.