Metis Global Partners LLC Grows Stock Holdings in Mid-America Apartment Communities, Inc. (NYSE:MAA)

Metis Global Partners LLC grew its holdings in Mid-America Apartment Communities, Inc. (NYSE:MAA) by 9.5% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 17,273 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,499 shares during the period. Metis Global Partners LLC’s holdings in Mid-America Apartment Communities were worth $2,670,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd purchased a new position in Mid-America Apartment Communities in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $2,890,000. Swedbank AB increased its holdings in shares of Mid-America Apartment Communities by 2.6% during the 3rd quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 203,587 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $32,350,000 after buying an additional 5,178 shares during the last quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Mid-America Apartment Communities by 2.4% during the 3rd quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 180,689 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $28,711,000 after buying an additional 4,301 shares during the last quarter. Eagle Asset Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Mid-America Apartment Communities during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $4,304,000. Finally, Capital Investment Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Mid-America Apartment Communities by 27.1% during the 4th quarter. Capital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 58,484 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $9,040,000 after buying an additional 12,454 shares during the last quarter. 93.60% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on shares of Mid-America Apartment Communities from $158.00 to $161.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. Barclays raised their price target on shares of Mid-America Apartment Communities from $152.00 to $163.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Mid-America Apartment Communities from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Mizuho cut their price target on shares of Mid-America Apartment Communities from $163.00 to $159.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Evercore ISI lifted their target price on shares of Mid-America Apartment Communities from $155.00 to $159.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $167.00.

Mid-America Apartment Communities Stock Performance

NYSE:MAA opened at $168.29 on Friday. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $154.46 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $156.67. The company has a market cap of $19.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.72 and a beta of 0.91. The company has a quick ratio of 0.08, a current ratio of 0.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81. Mid-America Apartment Communities, Inc. has a 52 week low of $123.73 and a 52 week high of $169.05.

Mid-America Apartment Communities (NYSE:MAA) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The real estate investment trust reported $2.23 earnings per share (EPS) 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%. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Mid-America Apartment Communities, Inc. will post 8.84 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Mid-America Apartment Communities Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 31st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, January 15th were given a dividend of $1.515 per share. This is a boost from Mid-America Apartment Communities’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.47. This represents a $6.06 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.60%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, January 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.