Stephens Inc. AR Decreases Position in Mid-America Apartment Communities, Inc. (NYSE:MAA)

Stephens Inc. AR decreased its stake in Mid-America Apartment Communities, Inc. (NYSE:MAA) by 27.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 2,692 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 1,004 shares during the period. Stephens Inc. AR’s holdings in Mid-America Apartment Communities were worth $416,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Mid-America Apartment Communities in the third quarter worth about $25,000. Activest Wealth Management purchased a new position in Mid-America Apartment Communities in the third quarter valued at about $32,000. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Mid-America Apartment Communities in the third quarter valued at about $37,000. Quarry LP purchased a new position in Mid-America Apartment Communities in the third quarter valued at about $45,000. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. boosted its holdings in Mid-America Apartment Communities by 30.5% in the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 321 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $50,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.60% of the company’s stock.

Mid-America Apartment Communities Stock Performance

MAA opened at $157.05 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $18.36 billion, a PE ratio of 35.06, a P/E/G ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.91. The company has a quick ratio of 0.09, a current ratio of 0.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $153.27 and a 200-day simple moving average of $155.80. Mid-America Apartment Communities, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $123.23 and a fifty-two week high of $167.39.

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 for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.04 by $1.19. Mid-America Apartment Communities had a return on equity of 8.53% and a net margin of 24.03%. As a group, equities analysts predict that Mid-America Apartment Communities, Inc. will post 8.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Mid-America Apartment Communities Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 31st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, January 15th were given a $1.515 dividend. This represents a $6.06 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.86%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, January 15th. This is a boost from Mid-America Apartment Communities’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.47. Mid-America Apartment Communities’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 135.27%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MAA has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada increased 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. Evercore ISI increased their target price on Mid-America Apartment Communities from $155.00 to $159.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. Scotiabank raised Mid-America Apartment Communities from a “sector perform” rating to a “sector outperform” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $173.00 to $182.00 in a report on Friday. Mizuho reduced their target price 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. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised Mid-America Apartment Communities from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $159.50 to $168.00 in a report on Friday, January 24th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Mid-America Apartment Communities currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $166.45.

About Mid-America Apartment Communities

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.