Sarasin & Partners LLP Lowers Position in Mid-America Apartment Communities, Inc. (NYSE:MAA)

Sarasin & Partners LLP trimmed its position in shares of Mid-America Apartment Communities, Inc. (NYSE:MAA) by 34.5% in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 15,035 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 7,915 shares during the quarter. Sarasin & Partners LLP’s holdings in Mid-America Apartment Communities were worth $2,389,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of MAA. Blackstone Inc. raised its position in Mid-America Apartment Communities by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Blackstone Inc. now owns 2,063,861 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $277,507,000 after purchasing an additional 20,000 shares in the last quarter. Quarry LP raised its position in shares of Mid-America Apartment Communities by 129.3% during the 4th quarter. Quarry LP now owns 422 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $57,000 after acquiring an additional 238 shares in the last quarter. Virtu Financial LLC raised its position in shares of Mid-America Apartment Communities by 24.0% during the 4th quarter. Virtu Financial LLC now owns 3,580 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $481,000 after acquiring an additional 693 shares in the last quarter. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. raised its position in shares of Mid-America Apartment Communities by 12.3% during the 4th quarter. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. now owns 44,464 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $5,979,000 after acquiring an additional 4,861 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP raised its position in shares of Mid-America Apartment Communities by 323.8% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 40,385 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $5,430,000 after acquiring an additional 30,855 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.60% of the company’s stock.

Mid-America Apartment Communities Stock Performance

Shares of Mid-America Apartment Communities stock traded up $1.02 on Friday, reaching $153.23. 30,587 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 760,890. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76, a quick ratio of 0.12 and a current ratio of 0.12. The company’s 50-day moving average is $157.84 and its two-hundred day moving average is $143.35. The firm has a market cap of $17.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.67, a P/E/G ratio of 2.47 and a beta of 0.88. Mid-America Apartment Communities, Inc. has a 1-year low of $115.56 and a 1-year high of $167.39.

Mid-America Apartment Communities Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 31st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, October 15th will be paid a dividend of $1.47 per share. This represents a $5.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.84%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, October 15th. Mid-America Apartment Communities’s payout ratio is currently 133.94%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on MAA. JMP Securities raised their target price on Mid-America Apartment Communities from $145.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a “market outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on Mid-America Apartment Communities from $145.00 to $148.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Bank of America upgraded Mid-America Apartment Communities from an “underperform” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $144.00 to $189.00 in a research report on Monday, August 12th. UBS Group boosted their price target on Mid-America Apartment Communities from $131.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a report on Thursday, July 18th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised Mid-America Apartment Communities from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $138.00 to $174.00 in a report on Monday, August 26th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Mid-America Apartment Communities has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $159.91.

Mid-America Apartment Communities 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.