Mid-America Apartment Communities, Inc. (NYSE:MAA) Shares Acquired by Benjamin Edwards Inc.

Benjamin Edwards Inc. increased its holdings in Mid-America Apartment Communities, Inc. (NYSE:MAA - Free Report) by 2.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 86,544 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after buying an additional 2,205 shares during the period. Benjamin Edwards Inc. owned about 0.07% of Mid-America Apartment Communities worth $13,377,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of MAA. IFP Advisors Inc raised its stake in shares of Mid-America Apartment Communities by 37.2% during the 4th quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 251 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $39,000 after acquiring an additional 68 shares in the last quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC purchased a new position in Mid-America Apartment Communities in the fourth quarter worth $46,000. UMB Bank n.a. increased its position in shares of Mid-America Apartment Communities by 30.5% during the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 321 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $50,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Mid-America Apartment Communities by 57.8% during the 4th 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 last quarter. Finally, Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new stake in shares of Mid-America Apartment Communities in the 3rd quarter worth $63,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.60% of the company's stock.

Mid-America Apartment Communities Price Performance

Shares of Mid-America Apartment Communities stock traded up $1.30 on Friday, reaching $162.96. The company's stock had a trading volume of 632,833 shares, compared to its average volume of 734,527. Mid-America Apartment Communities, Inc. has a 52-week low of $126.77 and a 52-week high of $173.38. The company has a market capitalization of $19.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.38, a PEG ratio of 3.72 and a beta of 0.80. The company has a quick ratio of 0.08, a current ratio of 0.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $161.03 and a 200-day moving average price of $157.83.

Mid-America Apartment Communities (NYSE:MAA - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The real estate investment trust reported $2.20 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.16 by $0.04. Mid-America Apartment Communities had a net margin of 24.03% and a return on equity of 8.53%. The company had revenue of $549.30 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $551.21 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.22 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that Mid-America Apartment Communities, Inc. will post 8.84 EPS for the current year.

Mid-America Apartment Communities Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 15th were issued a $1.515 dividend. This represents a $6.06 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.72%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, April 15th. Mid-America Apartment Communities's payout ratio is 126.25%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO H Eric Bolton, Jr. sold 4,358 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $166.24, for a total transaction of $724,473.92. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 324,171 shares in the company, valued at approximately $53,890,187.04. The trade was a 1.33 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Amber Fairbanks sold 173 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, May 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $166.85, for a total value of $28,865.05. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 3,012 shares in the company, valued at $502,552.20. The trade was a 5.43 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 7,313 shares of company stock worth $1,171,707. Corporate insiders own 1.30% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the company. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on Mid-America Apartment Communities from $158.00 to $161.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. StockNews.com raised shares of Mid-America Apartment Communities from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Mid-America Apartment Communities from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $148.00 to $190.00 in a research report on Monday, March 10th. Robert W. Baird raised their price target on shares of Mid-America Apartment Communities from $161.00 to $162.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, JMP Securities reissued a "market outperform" rating and set a $160.00 price objective on shares of Mid-America Apartment Communities in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $169.00.

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.