Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd Increases Position in Mid-America Apartment Communities, Inc. (NYSE:MAA)

Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd boosted its stake in Mid-America Apartment Communities, Inc. (NYSE:MAA - Free Report) by 4.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 37,680 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after purchasing an additional 1,682 shares during the quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd's holdings in Mid-America Apartment Communities were worth $5,824,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Mid-America Apartment Communities during the 3rd quarter valued at about $25,000. Activest Wealth Management bought a new position in Mid-America Apartment Communities during the 3rd quarter valued at about $32,000. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in Mid-America Apartment Communities during the 3rd quarter valued at about $37,000. Quarry LP bought a new position in Mid-America Apartment Communities during the 3rd quarter valued at about $45,000. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. grew its holdings in Mid-America Apartment Communities by 30.5% during the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 321 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $50,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares during the last quarter. 93.60% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently commented on MAA. KeyCorp upgraded shares of Mid-America Apartment Communities from a "sector weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and set a $180.00 price target on the stock in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on shares of Mid-America Apartment Communities from $158.00 to $161.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. JMP Securities restated a "market outperform" rating and issued a $160.00 target price on shares of Mid-America Apartment Communities in a research note on Tuesday. Wells Fargo & Company dropped 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 note on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Mizuho dropped their target price 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. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $166.00.

Mid-America Apartment Communities Price Performance

Shares of NYSE MAA traded down $0.16 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $155.87. The company had a trading volume of 691,864 shares, compared to its average volume of 745,516. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $153.35 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $155.59. Mid-America Apartment Communities, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $121.51 and a fifty-two week high of $167.39. The firm has a market capitalization of $18.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.91. The company has a quick ratio of 0.09, a current ratio of 0.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81.

Mid-America Apartment Communities (NYSE:MAA - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The real estate investment trust reported $2.23 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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, research analysts expect that Mid-America Apartment Communities, Inc. will post 8.86 earnings per share for the current year.

Mid-America Apartment Communities Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 31st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, January 15th were paid a dividend of $1.515 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, January 15th. This is an increase from Mid-America Apartment Communities's previous quarterly dividend of $1.47. This represents a $6.06 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.89%. Mid-America Apartment Communities's payout ratio 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.