Russell Investments Group Ltd. Buys 304,021 Shares of Mid-America Apartment Communities, Inc. (NYSE:MAA)

Russell Investments Group Ltd. boosted its stake in Mid-America Apartment Communities, Inc. (NYSE:MAA) by 200.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 455,640 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after purchasing an additional 304,021 shares during the quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd.’s holdings in Mid-America Apartment Communities were worth $70,300,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. IFP Advisors Inc lifted its stake 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 valued at $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 3rd quarter valued at about $45,000. Headlands Technologies LLC acquired a new position in Mid-America Apartment Communities during the fourth quarter worth approximately $46,000. UMB Bank n.a. increased its holdings 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 worth $50,000 after acquiring an additional 75 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Mid-America Apartment Communities by 57.8% in the fourth 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. Institutional investors own 93.60% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently commented on MAA. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Mid-America Apartment Communities from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the company from $148.00 to $190.00 in a research note on Monday, March 10th. StockNews.com raised Mid-America Apartment Communities from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on Mid-America Apartment Communities from $158.00 to $161.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. JMP Securities restated a “market outperform” rating and issued a $160.00 price target on shares of Mid-America Apartment Communities in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, Mizuho cut their price objective on shares of Mid-America Apartment Communities from $163.00 to $159.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $168.90.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO H Eric Bolton, Jr. sold 4,358 shares of Mid-America Apartment Communities stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $166.24, for a total transaction of $724,473.92. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 324,171 shares in the company, valued at $53,890,187.04. This trade represents a 1.33 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 1.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Mid-America Apartment Communities Stock Down 6.4 %

Shares of NYSE MAA opened at $153.15 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $17.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.18, a PEG ratio of 3.72 and a beta of 0.90. The company has a current ratio of 0.08, a quick ratio of 0.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81. 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 50-day moving average price of $161.14 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $157.53.

Mid-America Apartment Communities (NYSE:MAA) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The real estate investment trust reported $2.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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%. As a group, analysts forecast 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 disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 15th will be issued a dividend of $1.515 per share. This represents a $6.06 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.96%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 15th. Mid-America Apartment Communities’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.