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

DnB Asset Management AS grew its stake in Mid-America Apartment Communities, Inc. (NYSE:MAA) by 1.0% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 19,302 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after buying 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 filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in MAA. IFP Advisors Inc increased its holdings in Mid-America Apartment Communities by 37.2% in the 4th quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 251 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $39,000 after acquiring an additional 68 shares in the last quarter. Quarry LP bought a new position in shares of Mid-America Apartment Communities in the third quarter worth approximately $45,000. UMB Bank n.a. increased its stake in shares of Mid-America Apartment Communities by 30.5% in the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 321 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $50,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Mid-America Apartment Communities by 57.8% during the 4th quarter. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC now owns 363 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $56,000 after purchasing an additional 133 shares during the period. Finally, Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new position in shares of Mid-America Apartment Communities during the 3rd quarter valued at $63,000. Institutional investors own 93.60% of the company’s stock.

Mid-America Apartment Communities Stock Performance

Shares of MAA opened at $167.60 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.08, a quick ratio of 0.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81. 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. Mid-America Apartment Communities, Inc. has a 12 month low of $123.73 and a 12 month high of $173.38. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $159.95 and a 200-day moving average price of $157.55.

Mid-America Apartment Communities (NYSE:MAA) last released its quarterly earnings results 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%. Equities research analysts predict that Mid-America Apartment Communities, Inc. will post 8.84 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Mid-America Apartment Communities Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 15th will be paid a $1.515 dividend. This represents a $6.06 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.62%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 15th. Mid-America Apartment Communities’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 135.27%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MAA has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Evercore ISI raised their price target on 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. BMO Capital Markets decreased their target price on Mid-America Apartment Communities from $157.00 to $155.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Raymond James upped their price target on Mid-America Apartment Communities from $180.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. Scotiabank upgraded shares of Mid-America Apartment Communities from a “sector perform” rating to a “sector outperform” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $173.00 to $182.00 in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Mid-America Apartment Communities from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $159.50 to $168.00 in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Mid-America Apartment Communities currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $168.90.

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.