Franklin Resources Inc. Increases Stock Holdings in Mid-America Apartment Communities, Inc. (NYSE:MAA)

Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Mid-America Apartment Communities, Inc. (NYSE:MAA - Free Report) by 9.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 483,743 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after buying an additional 41,390 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. owned about 0.41% of Mid-America Apartment Communities worth $74,772,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of MAA. Quantbot Technologies LP purchased a new position in Mid-America Apartment Communities in the third quarter valued at about $249,000. Walleye Capital LLC purchased a new position in Mid-America Apartment Communities in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $357,000. Captrust Financial Advisors boosted its position in Mid-America Apartment Communities by 3.7% during the third quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 7,091 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $1,127,000 after purchasing an additional 251 shares in the last quarter. Paloma Partners Management Co acquired a new position in shares of Mid-America Apartment Communities during the 3rd quarter worth $383,000. Finally, Holocene Advisors LP boosted its position in shares of Mid-America Apartment Communities by 15.6% in the 3rd quarter. Holocene Advisors LP now owns 30,681 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $4,875,000 after buying an additional 4,133 shares in the last quarter. 93.60% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Mid-America Apartment Communities Trading Up 1.1 %

Shares of MAA stock traded up $1.69 on Tuesday, reaching $152.40. 262,570 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 796,127. The company has a quick ratio of 0.08, a current ratio of 0.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81. The stock has a market cap of $17.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.02, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.72 and a beta of 0.79. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $161.08 and a two-hundred day moving average of $157.39. Mid-America Apartment Communities, Inc. has a 1-year low of $123.73 and a 1-year high of $173.38.

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Mid-America Apartment Communities (NYSE:MAA - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The real estate investment trust reported $2.23 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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, research analysts anticipate that Mid-America Apartment Communities, Inc. will post 8.84 EPS for the current year.

Mid-America Apartment Communities Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 15th will be issued a $1.515 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 15th. This represents a $6.06 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.98%. Mid-America Apartment Communities's payout ratio is 135.27%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Mid-America Apartment Communities

In other news, CEO H Eric Bolton, Jr. sold 4,358 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $166.24, for a total value of $724,473.92. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 324,171 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $53,890,187.04. This trade represents a 1.33 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Insiders have sold a total of 7,140 shares of company stock valued at $1,142,842 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 1.30% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MAA has been the subject of several recent research reports. Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Mid-America Apartment Communities from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and raised their target price for the company from $159.50 to $168.00 in a report on Friday, January 24th. Raymond James lifted their price objective on Mid-America Apartment Communities from $180.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. Mizuho lowered 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. Scotiabank raised Mid-America Apartment Communities from a "sector perform" rating to a "sector outperform" rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $173.00 to $182.00 in a report on Friday, February 14th. Finally, KeyCorp raised Mid-America Apartment Communities from a "sector weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and set a $180.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $168.90.

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.