DnB Asset Management AS Raises Stock Position in Mid-America Apartment Communities, Inc. (NYSE:MAA)

DnB Asset Management AS lifted its stake in Mid-America Apartment Communities, Inc. (NYSE:MAA) by 1.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 19,302 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after purchasing an additional 185 shares during the period. DnB Asset Management AS’s holdings in Mid-America Apartment Communities were worth $2,984,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Norges Bank bought a new position in Mid-America Apartment Communities in the fourth quarter worth about $826,562,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its position in shares of Mid-America Apartment Communities by 26.9% in the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 3,344,862 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $517,015,000 after acquiring an additional 708,125 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Mid-America Apartment Communities in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $95,671,000. Aew Capital Management L P boosted its position in shares of Mid-America Apartment Communities by 516.3% during the fourth quarter. Aew Capital Management L P now owns 630,994 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $97,533,000 after purchasing an additional 528,608 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co. boosted its position in shares of Mid-America Apartment Communities by 271.3% during the fourth quarter. Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co. now owns 289,188 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $44,700,000 after purchasing an additional 211,308 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 93.60% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MAA has been the subject of several recent research reports. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price objective on Mid-America Apartment Communities from $157.00 to $155.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Evercore ISI upped their price objective on shares of 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. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on shares of Mid-America Apartment Communities from $158.00 to $161.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on Mid-America Apartment Communities from $174.00 to $164.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market outperform” rating and set a $160.00 price objective on shares of Mid-America Apartment Communities in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Mid-America Apartment Communities has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $168.90.

Mid-America Apartment Communities Price Performance

Shares of MAA opened at $167.60 on Tuesday. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $159.95 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $157.55. The firm has a market cap of $19.59 billion, a PE ratio of 37.41, a P/E/G ratio of 3.72 and a beta of 0.90. The company has a current ratio of 0.08, a quick ratio of 0.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81. Mid-America Apartment Communities, Inc. has a 1-year low of $123.73 and a 1-year high of $173.38.

Mid-America Apartment Communities (NYSE:MAA) last posted 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 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 disclosed 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. This represents a $6.06 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.62%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 15th. Mid-America Apartment Communities’s payout ratio is 135.27%.

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.