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

Kentucky Retirement Systems lowered its position in Mid-America Apartment Communities, Inc. (NYSE:MAA) by 1.4% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 8,032 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 110 shares during the quarter. Kentucky Retirement Systems’ holdings in Mid-America Apartment Communities were worth $1,242,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of MAA. State Street Corp raised its holdings in Mid-America Apartment Communities by 0.9% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 7,731,712 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $1,228,569,000 after acquiring an additional 65,696 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Mid-America Apartment Communities by 1.6% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,141,138 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $497,624,000 after purchasing an additional 48,168 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Mid-America Apartment Communities by 3.0% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,355,585 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $215,402,000 after buying an additional 39,123 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its stake in Mid-America Apartment Communities by 516.4% in the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 1,074,223 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $170,694,000 after purchasing an additional 899,960 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Swiss National Bank raised its stake in shares of Mid-America Apartment Communities by 0.3% in the third quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 346,676 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $55,087,000 after acquiring an additional 1,100 shares during the last quarter. 93.60% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Mid-America Apartment Communities Stock Up 0.4 %

Shares of 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 current ratio of 0.08, a quick ratio of 0.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81. The company has a market capitalization of $18.78 billion, a PE ratio of 35.86, a PEG ratio of 3.72 and a beta of 0.91. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $153.29 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $156.25.

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, 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%. On average, analysts anticipate 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. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, January 15th were paid a $1.515 dividend. This represents a $6.06 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.77%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, January 15th. 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%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MAA has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. StockNews.com upgraded Mid-America Apartment Communities from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on 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. KeyCorp raised shares of Mid-America Apartment Communities from a “sector weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $180.00 target price for the company in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. Mizuho decreased their target price on Mid-America Apartment Communities from $163.00 to $159.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upgraded Mid-America Apartment Communities from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $159.50 to $168.00 in a report on Friday, January 24th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $167.00.

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.