Chesley Taft & Associates LLC Boosts Stake in Mid-America Apartment Communities, Inc. (NYSE:MAA)

Chesley Taft & Associates LLC boosted its holdings in Mid-America Apartment Communities, Inc. (NYSE:MAA) by 1.6% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 4,828 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after acquiring an additional 75 shares during the quarter. Chesley Taft & Associates LLC’s holdings in Mid-America Apartment Communities were worth $746,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new position in shares of Mid-America Apartment Communities in the 3rd quarter valued at about $25,000. Activest Wealth Management purchased a new stake in Mid-America Apartment Communities during the third quarter worth about $32,000. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Mid-America Apartment Communities during the third quarter worth about $37,000. Quarry LP purchased a new position in Mid-America Apartment Communities in the third quarter valued at about $45,000. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. lifted its position in shares of Mid-America Apartment Communities by 30.5% during the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 321 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $50,000 after acquiring an additional 75 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.60% of the company’s stock.

Mid-America Apartment Communities Stock Performance

NYSE MAA opened at $150.48 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.09, a quick ratio of 0.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80. The company has a market capitalization of $17.59 billion, a PE ratio of 33.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 0.91. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $155.82 and its 200 day moving average price is $154.43. Mid-America Apartment Communities, Inc. has a twelve month low of $121.51 and a twelve month high of $167.39.

Mid-America Apartment Communities (NYSE:MAA) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.98 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.18 by ($1.20). Mid-America Apartment Communities had a return on equity of 8.38% and a net margin of 23.84%. The company had revenue of $551.13 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $548.53 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.29 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 1.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts predict that Mid-America Apartment Communities, Inc. will post 8.89 earnings per share for the current year.

Mid-America Apartment Communities Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 31st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, January 15th will be paid a dividend of $1.515 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, January 15th. 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 4.03%. Mid-America Apartment Communities’s payout ratio is currently 136.79%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently weighed in on MAA. JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market outperform” rating and issued a $160.00 price objective on shares of Mid-America Apartment Communities in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Mizuho cut their price target on Mid-America Apartment Communities from $163.00 to $159.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 6th. KeyCorp upgraded shares of Mid-America Apartment Communities from a “sector weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $180.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. Raymond James upgraded shares of Mid-America Apartment Communities from a “market perform” rating to a “strong-buy” rating and set a $175.00 target price for the company in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Finally, Barclays initiated coverage on shares of Mid-America Apartment Communities in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $166.00 price target on the stock. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $166.29.

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.