Ieq Capital LLC Grows Holdings in Mid-America Apartment Communities, Inc. (NYSE:MAA)

Ieq Capital LLC increased its holdings in shares of Mid-America Apartment Communities, Inc. (NYSE:MAA) by 3.9% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 3,875 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after buying an additional 145 shares during the quarter. Ieq Capital LLC’s holdings in Mid-America Apartment Communities were worth $599,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Mid-America Apartment Communities during the third quarter worth about $2,890,000. Swedbank AB raised its stake in Mid-America Apartment Communities by 2.6% during the 3rd quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 203,587 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $32,350,000 after acquiring an additional 5,178 shares during the last quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its position in Mid-America Apartment Communities by 2.4% during the 3rd quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 180,689 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $28,711,000 after acquiring an additional 4,301 shares during the period. Eagle Asset Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Mid-America Apartment Communities in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $4,304,000. Finally, Capital Investment Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Mid-America Apartment Communities by 27.1% in the fourth quarter. Capital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 58,484 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $9,040,000 after purchasing an additional 12,454 shares during the period. 93.60% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Mid-America Apartment Communities Stock Up 1.2 %

Mid-America Apartment Communities stock opened at $164.89 on Wednesday. Mid-America Apartment Communities, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $123.23 and a fifty-two week high of $167.39. The firm has a market capitalization of $19.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.72 and a beta of 0.91. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $153.55 and its two-hundred day moving average is $156.41. 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 quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 24.03% and a return on equity of 8.53%. Analysts predict that Mid-America Apartment Communities, Inc. will post 8.84 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Mid-America Apartment Communities Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 31st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, January 15th were paid a dividend of $1.515 per share. This represents a $6.06 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.68%. This is a boost from Mid-America Apartment Communities’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.47. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, January 15th. Mid-America Apartment Communities’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 135.27%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently weighed in on MAA. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on Mid-America Apartment Communities from $174.00 to $164.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 24th. KeyCorp upgraded shares of Mid-America Apartment Communities from a “sector weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $180.00 target price for the company in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. JMP Securities reiterated a “market outperform” rating and set a $160.00 price target on shares of Mid-America Apartment Communities in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Morgan Stanley raised shares of Mid-America Apartment Communities from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $159.50 to $168.00 in a report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Mizuho lowered their price objective on Mid-America Apartment Communities from $163.00 to $159.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 6th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $167.00.

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.