Ceredex Value Advisors LLC Decreases Holdings in Mid-America Apartment Communities, Inc. (NYSE:MAA)

Ceredex Value Advisors LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of Mid-America Apartment Communities, Inc. (NYSE:MAA - Free Report) by 55.7% during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 293,644 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after selling 368,466 shares during the quarter. Ceredex Value Advisors LLC owned 0.25% of Mid-America Apartment Communities worth $46,660,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of MAA. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its holdings in Mid-America Apartment Communities by 17.5% during the 2nd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 2,633,160 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $375,515,000 after acquiring an additional 393,067 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in shares of Mid-America Apartment Communities by 6.0% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,716,628 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $244,803,000 after acquiring an additional 97,672 shares during the last quarter. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Mid-America Apartment Communities by 2.8% in the second quarter. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC now owns 1,644,322 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $234,497,000 after purchasing an additional 44,621 shares in the last quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board boosted its holdings in Mid-America Apartment Communities by 1.5% during the 1st quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 1,444,641 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $190,086,000 after acquiring an additional 21,000 shares during the last quarter. Finally, 1832 Asset Management L.P. increased its stake in Mid-America Apartment Communities by 7.0% in the 2nd quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. now owns 1,140,287 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $162,616,000 after buying an additional 74,936 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 93.60% of the company's stock.

Mid-America Apartment Communities Price Performance

Mid-America Apartment Communities stock traded down $2.17 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $149.17. 1,027,700 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 578,456. The company's fifty day moving average is $158.10 and its 200-day moving average is $145.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.12 and a current ratio of 0.09. Mid-America Apartment Communities, Inc. has a 52 week low of $118.68 and a 52 week high of $167.39. The firm has a market cap of $17.43 billion, a PE ratio of 33.67, a PEG ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 0.88.

Mid-America Apartment Communities (NYSE:MAA - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.98 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.18 by ($1.20). Mid-America Apartment Communities had a return on equity of 8.38% and a net margin of 23.84%. The business had revenue of $551.13 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $548.53 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.29 earnings per share. Mid-America Apartment Communities's quarterly revenue was up 1.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Mid-America Apartment Communities, Inc. will post 8.88 EPS for the current year.

Mid-America Apartment Communities Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 31st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, October 15th were given a dividend of $1.47 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, October 15th. This represents a $5.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.94%. Mid-America Apartment Communities's payout ratio is presently 132.73%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have weighed in on MAA shares. Wedbush boosted their price objective on Mid-America Apartment Communities from $154.00 to $184.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, August 5th. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of Mid-America Apartment Communities from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $138.00 to $174.00 in a research report on Monday, August 26th. JMP Securities upped their price objective on Mid-America Apartment Communities from $145.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a "market outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. UBS Group raised their target price on Mid-America Apartment Communities from $131.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock a "sell" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 18th. Finally, Bank of America raised Mid-America Apartment Communities from an "underperform" rating to a "buy" rating and upped their price target for the company from $144.00 to $189.00 in a research report on Monday, August 12th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $161.69.

About Mid-America Apartment Communities

MAA, an S&P 500 company, is a real estate investment trust (REIT) focused on delivering full-cycle and superior investment performance for shareholders through the ownership, management, acquisition, development and redevelopment of quality apartment communities primarily in the Southeast, Southwest and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States.