Mid-America Apartment Communities, Inc. (NYSE:MAA) Stake Increased by Arizona State Retirement System

Arizona State Retirement System raised its stake in shares of Mid-America Apartment Communities, Inc. (NYSE:MAA) by 1.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 33,946 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after acquiring an additional 475 shares during the quarter. Arizona State Retirement System’s holdings in Mid-America Apartment Communities were worth $5,247,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Proficio Capital Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Mid-America Apartment Communities during the 4th quarter valued at about $10,035,000. Assetmark Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Mid-America Apartment Communities by 4.2% during the fourth quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 6,184 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $956,000 after purchasing an additional 248 shares during the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Mid-America Apartment Communities by 45.6% during the fourth quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 62,434 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $9,650,000 after purchasing an additional 19,548 shares during the last quarter. Keybank National Association OH lifted its holdings in shares of Mid-America Apartment Communities by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Keybank National Association OH now owns 9,171 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $1,418,000 after purchasing an additional 85 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in Mid-America Apartment Communities by 2.5% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,389,113 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $214,715,000 after purchasing an additional 33,528 shares during the period. 93.60% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Mid-America Apartment Communities Stock Performance

Shares of MAA opened at $166.31 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $19.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.72 and a beta of 0.90. Mid-America Apartment Communities, Inc. has a 12 month low of $123.73 and a 12 month high of $173.38. The company’s fifty day moving average is $155.87 and its 200-day moving average is $157.21. 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 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 return on equity of 8.53% and a net margin of 24.03%. Equities analysts expect that Mid-America Apartment Communities, Inc. will post 8.84 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Mid-America Apartment Communities Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 31st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, January 15th were issued a $1.515 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, January 15th. This represents a $6.06 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.64%. 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%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on Mid-America Apartment Communities from $158.00 to $161.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Barclays lifted their price target on Mid-America Apartment Communities from $152.00 to $163.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Mid-America Apartment Communities from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Scotiabank upgraded Mid-America Apartment Communities from a “sector perform” rating to a “sector outperform” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $173.00 to $182.00 in a report on Friday, February 14th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reduced their price objective on shares of Mid-America Apartment Communities from $157.00 to $155.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Mid-America Apartment Communities presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $167.00.

Mid-America Apartment Communities 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.