Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC Sells 19,422 Shares of Mid-America Apartment Communities, Inc. (NYSE:MAA)

Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC trimmed its stake in Mid-America Apartment Communities, Inc. (NYSE:MAA - Free Report) by 1.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,600,296 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after selling 19,422 shares during the quarter. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC owned 1.37% of Mid-America Apartment Communities worth $247,358,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Cornerstone Advisory LLC bought a new position in Mid-America Apartment Communities in the 4th quarter worth about $259,000. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its holdings in shares of Mid-America Apartment Communities by 5.1% during the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 1,128,986 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $174,507,000 after buying an additional 54,763 shares during the last quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP increased its position in shares of Mid-America Apartment Communities by 44.6% during the fourth quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 65,800 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $10,171,000 after acquiring an additional 20,300 shares in the last quarter. Tidal Investments LLC raised its holdings in Mid-America Apartment Communities by 6.1% in the 4th quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 57,483 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $8,885,000 after acquiring an additional 3,291 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Starwood Capital Group Management L.L.C. lifted its position in Mid-America Apartment Communities by 17.7% in the 4th quarter. Starwood Capital Group Management L.L.C. now owns 219,407 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $33,914,000 after acquiring an additional 33,000 shares in the last quarter. 93.60% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Mid-America Apartment Communities Stock Performance

NYSE:MAA traded up $0.29 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $154.52. 241,104 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 746,416. 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's fifty day moving average price is $159.56 and its 200-day moving average price is $158.23. The firm has a market cap of $18.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.72 and a beta of 0.80. Mid-America Apartment Communities, Inc. has a one year low of $126.77 and a one year high of $173.38.

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, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.16 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $549.30 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $551.21 million. Mid-America Apartment Communities had a return on equity of 8.53% and a net margin of 24.03%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.22 EPS. Research analysts anticipate 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 disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 31st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, July 15th will be paid a $1.515 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, July 15th. This represents a $6.06 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.92%. Mid-America Apartment Communities's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 126.25%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO H Eric Bolton, Jr. sold 4,358 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $166.24, for a total value of $724,473.92. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 324,171 shares in the company, valued at $53,890,187.04. The trade was a 1.33% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Amber Fairbanks sold 173 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $166.85, for a total value of $28,865.05. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 3,012 shares of the company's stock, valued at $502,552.20. This represents a 5.43% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 7,313 shares of company stock worth $1,171,707 in the last three months. Company insiders own 1.30% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have commented on MAA. Raymond James lowered Mid-America Apartment Communities from a "strong-buy" rating to an "outperform" rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $185.00 to $175.00 in a report on Thursday, May 15th. Barclays lifted their price objective on Mid-America Apartment Communities from $160.00 to $172.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, May 9th. JMP Securities upped their target price on shares of Mid-America Apartment Communities from $160.00 to $170.00 and gave the company a "market outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on shares of Mid-America Apartment Communities from $158.00 to $161.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Scotiabank boosted their price objective on shares of Mid-America Apartment Communities from $182.00 to $194.00 and gave the company a "sector outperform" rating in a report on Monday, May 12th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Mid-America Apartment Communities has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $169.50.

Mid-America Apartment Communities Company 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.