Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund Trims Stock Position in Mid-America Apartment Communities, Inc. (NYSE:MAA)

Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund trimmed its holdings in shares of Mid-America Apartment Communities, Inc. (NYSE:MAA) by 44.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 44,562 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 35,915 shares during the period. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund’s holdings in Mid-America Apartment Communities were worth $6,888,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Pring Turner Capital Group Inc. increased its position in Mid-America Apartment Communities by 5.3% during the fourth quarter. Pring Turner Capital Group Inc. now owns 30,227 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $4,672,000 after buying an additional 1,518 shares in the last quarter. IFP Advisors Inc boosted its stake in shares of Mid-America Apartment Communities by 37.2% during the fourth quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 251 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $39,000 after acquiring an additional 68 shares during the last quarter. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA purchased a new stake in Mid-America Apartment Communities during the 4th quarter worth about $2,489,000. Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund increased its position in Mid-America Apartment Communities by 30.8% during the 4th quarter. Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund now owns 16,134 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $2,494,000 after purchasing an additional 3,800 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Leeward Investments LLC MA raised its stake in Mid-America Apartment Communities by 34.7% in the 4th quarter. Leeward Investments LLC MA now owns 71,366 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $11,031,000 after purchasing an additional 18,395 shares during the last quarter. 93.60% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Mizuho decreased their price target on shares of Mid-America Apartment Communities from $163.00 to $159.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on shares of Mid-America Apartment Communities from $174.00 to $164.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 24th. JMP Securities reiterated a “market outperform” rating and issued a $160.00 price target on shares of Mid-America Apartment Communities in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Morgan Stanley raised Mid-America Apartment Communities from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $159.50 to $168.00 in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lowered their price objective on Mid-America Apartment Communities from $157.00 to $155.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. One equities 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 given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $167.00.

Mid-America Apartment Communities Price Performance

MAA opened at $164.20 on Thursday. Mid-America Apartment Communities, Inc. has a 52-week low of $123.73 and a 52-week high of $167.39. The company has a 50 day moving average of $153.81 and a two-hundred day moving average of $156.46. The company has a market cap of $19.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.65, a P/E/G ratio of 3.72 and a beta of 0.91. The company has a quick ratio of 0.08, a current ratio of 0.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81.

Mid-America Apartment Communities (NYSE:MAA) last announced its quarterly 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 expect that Mid-America Apartment Communities, Inc. will post 8.84 earnings per share for the current year.

Mid-America Apartment Communities Increases Dividend

The business 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. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, January 15th. This represents a $6.06 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.69%. This is a positive change from Mid-America Apartment Communities’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.47. Mid-America Apartment Communities’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 135.27%.

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.