2,000 Shares in Mid-America Apartment Communities, Inc. (NYSE:MAA) Bought by Gamco Investors INC. ET AL

Gamco Investors INC. ET AL acquired a new position in shares of Mid-America Apartment Communities, Inc. (NYSE:MAA - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 2,000 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock, valued at approximately $309,000.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of MAA. Virtu Financial LLC acquired a new position in Mid-America Apartment Communities during the third quarter valued at approximately $1,162,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new stake in Mid-America Apartment Communities in the third quarter valued at about $63,000. Tidal Investments LLC grew its position in Mid-America Apartment Communities by 16.4% in the third quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 54,192 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $8,611,000 after acquiring an additional 7,644 shares during the last quarter. Synovus Financial Corp raised its stake in Mid-America Apartment Communities by 5.8% during the third quarter. Synovus Financial Corp now owns 29,763 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $4,729,000 after acquiring an additional 1,629 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Mid-America Apartment Communities by 3.3% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 143,909 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $22,867,000 after purchasing an additional 4,618 shares in the last quarter. 93.60% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Mid-America Apartment Communities Stock Performance

Shares of MAA opened at $156.98 on Friday. Mid-America Apartment Communities, Inc. has a one year low of $125.55 and a one year high of $173.38. The company has a market cap of $18.35 billion, a PE ratio of 35.04, a P/E/G ratio of 3.72 and a beta of 0.79. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $161.23 and a 200-day moving average of $157.05. 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 (NYSE:MAA - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The real estate investment trust reported $2.23 EPS for the quarter, beating 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%. On average, equities research analysts predict that Mid-America Apartment Communities, Inc. will post 8.84 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Mid-America Apartment Communities Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 15th will be paid a $1.515 dividend. This represents a $6.06 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.86%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 15th. Mid-America Apartment Communities's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 135.27%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have weighed in on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Mid-America Apartment Communities from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and raised their target price for the company from $148.00 to $190.00 in a research report on Monday, March 10th. Evercore ISI boosted their price target on Mid-America Apartment Communities from $155.00 to $159.00 and gave the stock an "in-line" rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. BMO Capital Markets dropped 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 report on Tuesday, January 21st. Barclays reduced their target price on shares of Mid-America Apartment Communities from $163.00 to $160.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 11th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised shares of 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 research note on Friday, January 24th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $168.76.

Insider Buying and Selling at Mid-America Apartment Communities

In related news, CEO H Eric Bolton, Jr. sold 2,643 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $149.93, for a total value of $396,264.99. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 319,813 shares in the company, valued at $47,949,563.09. This represents a 0.82 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 7,140 shares of company stock valued at $1,142,842. Corporate insiders own 1.30% of the company's stock.

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.

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