Mid-America Apartment Communities, Inc. (NYSE:MAA) Shares Purchased by Unigestion Holding SA

Unigestion Holding SA lifted its position in Mid-America Apartment Communities, Inc. (NYSE:MAA) by 76.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 8,045 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,483 shares during the quarter. Unigestion Holding SA’s holdings in Mid-America Apartment Communities were worth $1,244,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Mid-America Apartment Communities in the fourth quarter worth $826,562,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its holdings in shares of 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 buying an additional 708,125 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Mid-America Apartment Communities during the 4th quarter valued at about $95,671,000. Aew Capital Management L P raised its stake in Mid-America Apartment Communities by 516.3% during the fourth quarter. Aew Capital Management L P now owns 630,994 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $97,533,000 after acquiring an additional 528,608 shares during the period. Finally, Russell Investments Group Ltd. lifted its holdings in Mid-America Apartment Communities by 200.5% in the fourth quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 455,640 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $70,300,000 after acquiring an additional 304,021 shares during the last quarter. 93.60% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Mid-America Apartment Communities Price Performance

Shares of NYSE MAA opened at $153.15 on Friday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $161.14 and a 200 day moving average price of $157.53. The firm has a market cap of $17.90 billion, a PE ratio of 34.18, a PEG 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. Mid-America Apartment Communities, Inc. has a 1-year low of $123.73 and a 1-year high of $173.38.

Mid-America Apartment Communities (NYSE:MAA) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The real estate investment trust reported $2.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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%. Research analysts predict that Mid-America Apartment Communities, Inc. will post 8.84 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Mid-America Apartment Communities Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 15th will be given a dividend of $1.515 per share. This represents a $6.06 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.96%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 15th. Mid-America Apartment Communities’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 135.27%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO H Eric Bolton, Jr. sold 4,358 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $166.24, for a total value of $724,473.92. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 324,171 shares in the company, valued at approximately $53,890,187.04. This trade represents a 1.33 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 1.30% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Scotiabank raised shares of Mid-America Apartment Communities from a “sector perform” rating to a “sector outperform” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $173.00 to $182.00 in a report on Friday, February 14th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on shares of Mid-America Apartment Communities from $174.00 to $164.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on Mid-America Apartment Communities from $158.00 to $161.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. JMP Securities reissued a “market outperform” rating and issued a $160.00 price objective on shares of Mid-America Apartment Communities in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, Evercore ISI lifted their target price on Mid-America Apartment Communities from $155.00 to $159.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Mid-America Apartment Communities 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.