Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp Grows Stake in Mid-America Apartment Communities, Inc. (NYSE:MAA)

Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp increased its holdings in shares of Mid-America Apartment Communities, Inc. (NYSE:MAA) by 79.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 93,396 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after purchasing an additional 41,464 shares during the quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp’s holdings in Mid-America Apartment Communities were worth $14,436,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. IFP Advisors Inc raised its holdings in Mid-America Apartment Communities by 37.2% during the fourth quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 251 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 68 shares in the last quarter. Quarry LP purchased a new position in shares of Mid-America Apartment Communities in the 3rd quarter valued at $45,000. UMB Bank n.a. raised its stake in 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 worth $50,000 after acquiring an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC raised its stake in 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 worth $56,000 after acquiring an additional 133 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new stake in Mid-America Apartment Communities in the third quarter valued at $63,000. 93.60% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently commented on MAA shares. Raymond James lifted their target price on Mid-America Apartment Communities from $180.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. Scotiabank raised Mid-America Apartment Communities from a “sector perform” rating to a “sector outperform” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $173.00 to $182.00 in a research report on Friday, February 14th. BMO Capital Markets decreased 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 report on Tuesday, January 21st. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Mid-America Apartment Communities from $152.00 to $163.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada increased 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 research note on Friday, February 7th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $168.90.

Mid-America Apartment Communities Price Performance

Mid-America Apartment Communities stock opened at $165.93 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $19.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.72 and a beta of 0.90. Mid-America Apartment Communities, Inc. has a one year low of $123.73 and a one year high of $173.38. The business has a fifty day moving average of $159.61 and a two-hundred day moving average of $157.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.08 and a current ratio of 0.08.

Mid-America Apartment Communities (NYSE:MAA) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The real estate investment trust reported $2.23 earnings per share 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, analysts predict that Mid-America Apartment Communities, Inc. will post 8.84 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Mid-America Apartment Communities Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 15th will be given a dividend of $1.515 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 15th. This represents a $6.06 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.65%. Mid-America Apartment Communities’s payout ratio is 135.27%.

Mid-America Apartment Communities Company 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.