Clarius Group LLC Makes New $212,000 Investment in Mid-America Apartment Communities, Inc. (NYSE:MAA)

Clarius Group LLC purchased a new stake in Mid-America Apartment Communities, Inc. (NYSE:MAA) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund purchased 1,575 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock, valued at approximately $212,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its holdings in Mid-America Apartment Communities by 9.2% in the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 155,151 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $21,020,000 after acquiring an additional 13,045 shares during the last quarter. Columbus Macro LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Mid-America Apartment Communities in the 4th quarter worth about $1,280,000. Sunesis Advisors LLC lifted its position in Mid-America Apartment Communities by 393.1% in the 4th quarter. Sunesis Advisors LLC now owns 22,842 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $3,071,000 after purchasing an additional 18,210 shares during the last quarter. Covestor Ltd boosted its stake in Mid-America Apartment Communities by 71.9% during the 3rd quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 667 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $86,000 after purchasing an additional 279 shares during the period. Finally, Arizona State Retirement System grew its position in Mid-America Apartment Communities by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 32,068 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $4,312,000 after purchasing an additional 241 shares during the last quarter. 93.60% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Scotiabank upgraded Mid-America Apartment Communities from a “sector underperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $133.00 to $147.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 16th. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “hold” rating and set a $136.00 price target (down previously from $140.00) on shares of Mid-America Apartment Communities in a research report on Tuesday, January 2nd. Mizuho cut their price objective on shares of Mid-America Apartment Communities from $132.00 to $126.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 28th. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “buy” rating and set a $149.00 target price on shares of Mid-America Apartment Communities in a research note on Thursday, February 22nd. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft began coverage on shares of Mid-America Apartment Communities in a research note on Tuesday, January 30th. They set a “hold” rating and a $139.00 price objective on the stock. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $143.18.

Insider Transactions at Mid-America Apartment Communities

In related news, CEO H Eric Bolton, Jr. sold 2,642 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $126.07, for a total value of $333,076.94. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 317,737 shares in the company, valued at $40,057,103.59. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Insiders sold 2,807 shares of company stock valued at $353,955 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 1.33% of the company’s stock.

Mid-America Apartment Communities Trading Down 1.2 %

NYSE MAA opened at $126.62 on Tuesday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $128.93 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $128.73. The stock has a market cap of $14.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.88, a PEG ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 0.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a quick ratio of 0.09 and a current ratio of 0.09. Mid-America Apartment Communities, Inc. has a twelve month low of $115.56 and a twelve month high of $158.46.

Mid-America Apartment Communities (NYSE:MAA) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 8th. The real estate investment trust reported $1.37 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.30 by ($0.93). Mid-America Apartment Communities had a net margin of 25.73% and a return on equity of 8.74%. The business had revenue of $542.25 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $542.64 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.32 EPS. Mid-America Apartment Communities’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts anticipate that Mid-America Apartment Communities, Inc. will post 8.92 EPS for the current year.

Mid-America Apartment Communities Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 30th. Investors of record on Monday, April 15th will be given a dividend of $1.47 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 12th. This represents a $5.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.64%. Mid-America Apartment Communities’s payout ratio is 124.84%.

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.