Principal Financial Group Inc. Raises Stock Position in Mid-America Apartment Communities, Inc. (NYSE:MAA)

Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its position in Mid-America Apartment Communities, Inc. (NYSE:MAA) by 3.3% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 143,909 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,618 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned 0.12% of Mid-America Apartment Communities worth $22,867,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of MAA. EdgeRock Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Mid-America Apartment Communities in the 2nd quarter worth $26,000. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its holdings in Mid-America Apartment Communities by 3,071.4% during the 2nd quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 222 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 215 shares in the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. grew its holdings in Mid-America Apartment Communities by 82.4% during the 2nd quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 239 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 108 shares in the last quarter. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Mid-America Apartment Communities during the 3rd quarter valued at about $37,000. Finally, Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC raised its holdings in shares of Mid-America Apartment Communities by 305.1% in the 2nd quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 316 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $45,000 after purchasing an additional 238 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 93.60% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on MAA. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price objective on shares of Mid-America Apartment Communities from $139.00 to $163.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 10th. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on shares of Mid-America Apartment Communities in a research note on Wednesday, September 4th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $187.00 target price for the company. Scotiabank upped their price target on Mid-America Apartment Communities from $161.00 to $174.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Monday, September 16th. UBS Group boosted their target price on Mid-America Apartment Communities from $131.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 18th. Finally, JMP Securities upped their target price on Mid-America Apartment Communities from $145.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a “market outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Two investment analysts have 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Mid-America Apartment Communities currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $161.69.

Mid-America Apartment Communities Price Performance

NYSE:MAA opened at $161.34 on Thursday. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $157.37 and its two-hundred day moving average is $147.77. The firm has a market cap of $18.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.42, a PEG ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 0.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.09 and a current ratio of 0.09. Mid-America Apartment Communities, Inc. has a one year low of $120.32 and a one year high of $167.39.

Mid-America Apartment Communities (NYSE:MAA) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.98 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.18 by ($1.20). The company had revenue of $551.13 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $548.53 million. Mid-America Apartment Communities had a return on equity of 8.38% and a net margin of 23.84%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 1.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.29 EPS. Research analysts expect that Mid-America Apartment Communities, Inc. will post 8.88 EPS for the current year.

Mid-America Apartment Communities Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 31st. Investors of record on Tuesday, October 15th were paid a $1.47 dividend. This represents a $5.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.64%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, October 15th. Mid-America Apartment Communities’s dividend payout ratio is currently 132.73%.

Mid-America Apartment Communities Company Profile

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.