Ascent Group LLC Reduces Stock Holdings in Mid-America Apartment Communities, Inc. (NYSE:MAA)

Ascent Group LLC lessened its stake in shares of Mid-America Apartment Communities, Inc. (NYSE:MAA) by 11.3% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,236 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 286 shares during the quarter. Ascent Group LLC’s holdings in Mid-America Apartment Communities were worth $294,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MAA. Covestor Ltd grew its holdings in Mid-America Apartment Communities by 12.3% in the 1st quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 848 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $112,000 after buying an additional 93 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. grew its holdings in Mid-America Apartment Communities by 22.8% in the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 511 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $65,000 after buying an additional 95 shares during the period. Oakworth Capital Inc. grew its holdings in Mid-America Apartment Communities by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Oakworth Capital Inc. now owns 15,212 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $2,045,000 after buying an additional 98 shares during the period. Czech National Bank grew its holdings in Mid-America Apartment Communities by 0.5% in the 1st quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 20,536 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $2,702,000 after buying an additional 99 shares during the period. Finally, State of Michigan Retirement System grew its holdings in Mid-America Apartment Communities by 0.3% in the 1st quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System now owns 33,599 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $4,421,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.60% of the company’s stock.

Mid-America Apartment Communities Stock Performance

MAA traded up $0.66 during trading on Monday, reaching $143.16. 521,610 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 769,602. The stock has a market cap of $16.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.01, a PEG ratio of 3.17 and a beta of 0.85. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $138.96 and a 200 day moving average of $133.31. The company has a current ratio of 0.12, a quick ratio of 0.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74. Mid-America Apartment Communities, Inc. has a 52 week low of $115.56 and a 52 week high of $150.79.

Mid-America Apartment Communities (NYSE:MAA) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 2nd. The real estate investment trust reported $1.22 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.23 by ($1.01). The company had revenue of $543.60 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $541.44 million. Mid-America Apartment Communities had a return on equity of 8.90% and a net margin of 25.92%. Mid-America Apartment Communities’s quarterly revenue was up 2.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.28 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Mid-America Apartment Communities, Inc. will post 8.88 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Mid-America Apartment Communities Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, July 15th will be issued a $1.47 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, July 15th. This represents a $5.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.11%. Mid-America Apartment Communities’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 123.27%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MAA has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Scotiabank lifted their price objective on Mid-America Apartment Communities from $139.00 to $144.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 14th. Truist Financial lifted their price objective on Mid-America Apartment Communities from $148.00 to $156.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, June 24th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Mid-America Apartment Communities from $129.00 to $138.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, May 31st. UBS Group lifted their price objective on Mid-America Apartment Communities from $131.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 18th. Finally, Mizuho boosted their price target on Mid-America Apartment Communities from $126.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 30th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $141.59.

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.