Dimensional Fund Advisors LP Grows Stock Position in Mid-America Apartment Communities, Inc. (NYSE:MAA)

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in shares of Mid-America Apartment Communities, Inc. (NYSE:MAA - Free Report) by 1.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,725,605 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after acquiring an additional 24,407 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP owned approximately 1.48% of Mid-America Apartment Communities worth $266,723,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. IFP Advisors Inc lifted its stake in 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 valued at $39,000 after acquiring an additional 68 shares during the period. Headlands Technologies LLC acquired a new stake in Mid-America Apartment Communities during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $46,000. UMB Bank n.a. lifted its stake in 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 valued at $50,000 after acquiring an additional 75 shares during the period. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC lifted its stake in 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 acquiring an additional 133 shares during the period. Finally, Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new stake in Mid-America Apartment Communities during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $63,000. 93.60% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on MAA shares. Scotiabank upgraded shares of Mid-America Apartment Communities from a "sector perform" rating to a "sector outperform" rating and boosted their target price for the company from $173.00 to $182.00 in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Raymond James boosted their target price on shares of Mid-America Apartment Communities from $180.00 to $185.00 and gave the company a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. BMO Capital Markets decreased their target price on shares of Mid-America Apartment Communities from $157.00 to $155.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on shares of Mid-America Apartment Communities from $155.00 to $159.00 and gave the company an "in-line" rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Mizuho decreased their target price on shares of Mid-America Apartment Communities from $163.00 to $159.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 6th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Mid-America Apartment Communities currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $168.76.

Mid-America Apartment Communities Price Performance

Shares of Mid-America Apartment Communities stock traded down $0.12 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $159.34. 366,608 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 735,418. Mid-America Apartment Communities, Inc. has a 1 year low of $126.77 and a 1 year high of $173.38. The company has a market capitalization of $18.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.72 and a beta of 0.79. The business has a fifty day moving average of $161.38 and a two-hundred day moving average of $157.24. The company has a quick ratio of 0.08, a current ratio of 0.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81.

Mid-America Apartment Communities (NYSE:MAA - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results 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, research analysts predict 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 declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 15th will be issued a dividend of $1.515 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 15th. This represents a $6.06 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.80%. Mid-America Apartment Communities's dividend payout ratio is currently 135.27%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO H Eric Bolton, Jr. sold 2,643 shares of Mid-America Apartment Communities stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $149.93, for a total transaction of $396,264.99. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 319,813 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $47,949,563.09. The trade was a 0.82 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 7,140 shares of company stock valued at $1,142,842. 1.30% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Mid-America Apartment Communities 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.