Gamco Investors INC. ET AL Acquires Shares of 2,000 Mid-America Apartment Communities, Inc. (NYSE:MAA)

Gamco Investors INC. ET AL bought a new position in Mid-America Apartment Communities, Inc. (NYSE:MAA - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm bought 2,000 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock, valued at approximately $309,000.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Metis Global Partners LLC increased its position in Mid-America Apartment Communities by 9.5% in the fourth quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC now owns 17,273 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $2,670,000 after purchasing an additional 1,499 shares during the last quarter. Paradigm Asset Management Co. LLC raised its position in Mid-America Apartment Communities by 1,582.9% during the 4th quarter. Paradigm Asset Management Co. LLC now owns 6,698 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $1,035,000 after purchasing an additional 6,300 shares in the last quarter. Capital Investment Advisors LLC lifted its stake in 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 worth $9,040,000 after acquiring an additional 12,454 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in Mid-America Apartment Communities by 31.6% during the 4th quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 189,428 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $29,280,000 after acquiring an additional 45,519 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vert Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in Mid-America Apartment Communities by 9.6% in the fourth quarter. Vert Asset Management LLC now owns 51,374 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $7,941,000 after purchasing an additional 4,499 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.60% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO H Eric Bolton, Jr. sold 2,643 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $149.93, for a total value of $396,264.99. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 319,813 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $47,949,563.09. This trade represents a 0.82 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 7,140 shares of company stock valued at $1,142,842. 1.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on MAA shares. Truist Financial boosted their price objective on shares of Mid-America Apartment Communities from $158.00 to $174.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, March 10th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on Mid-America Apartment Communities from $158.00 to $161.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price target on Mid-America Apartment Communities from $157.00 to $155.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Mid-America Apartment Communities from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and raised their target price for the company from $148.00 to $190.00 in a research report on Monday, March 10th. Finally, StockNews.com raised Mid-America Apartment Communities from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Mid-America Apartment Communities currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $168.76.

Mid-America Apartment Communities Stock Performance

Shares of Mid-America Apartment Communities stock traded down $0.32 on Friday, reaching $159.14. 87,805 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 869,135. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 0.08 and a quick ratio of 0.08. The firm has a market capitalization of $18.60 billion, a PE ratio of 35.53, a PEG ratio of 3.72 and a beta of 0.79. The company has a 50 day moving average of $161.34 and a 200 day moving average of $157.13. Mid-America Apartment Communities, Inc. has a 52 week low of $126.77 and a 52 week high of $173.38.

Mid-America Apartment Communities (NYSE:MAA - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The real estate investment trust reported $2.23 earnings per share 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%. Equities analysts forecast that Mid-America Apartment Communities, Inc. will post 8.84 earnings per share for the current year.

Mid-America Apartment Communities Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 15th will be given a $1.515 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 15th. This represents a $6.06 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.81%. Mid-America Apartment Communities's dividend payout ratio is currently 135.27%.

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.