Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund Takes Position in Mid-America Apartment Communities, Inc. (NYSE:MAA)

Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund purchased a new stake in shares of Mid-America Apartment Communities, Inc. (NYSE:MAA - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 3,376 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock, valued at approximately $566,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Capital World Investors increased its holdings in shares of Mid-America Apartment Communities by 45.9% during the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 6,636,915 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $1,025,868,000 after acquiring an additional 2,088,143 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Mid-America Apartment Communities in the 4th quarter worth about $826,562,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its holdings in Mid-America Apartment Communities by 26.9% in the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 3,344,862 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $517,015,000 after buying an additional 708,125 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Mid-America Apartment Communities by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,193,188 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $492,421,000 after buying an additional 52,050 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its holdings in Mid-America Apartment Communities by 1.5% in the 4th quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 2,656,669 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $410,641,000 after buying an additional 40,436 shares in the last quarter. 93.60% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Mid-America Apartment Communities Trading Down 0.6%

MAA stock opened at $149.19 on Wednesday. Mid-America Apartment Communities, Inc. has a 1-year low of $137.51 and a 1-year high of $173.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 0.11 and a quick ratio of 0.11. The company has a market capitalization of $17.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.08, a PEG ratio of 3.84 and a beta of 0.78. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $156.21 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $156.93.

Mid-America Apartment Communities (NYSE:MAA - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The real estate investment trust reported $2.20 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.16 by $0.04. Mid-America Apartment Communities had a return on equity of 9.19% and a net margin of 25.70%. The business had revenue of $549.30 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $551.21 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.22 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate that Mid-America Apartment Communities, Inc. will post 8.84 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Mid-America Apartment Communities Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 31st. Shareholders 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.06%. Mid-America Apartment Communities's payout ratio is 126.25%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently commented on MAA. Raymond James Financial downgraded Mid-America Apartment Communities from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a report on Tuesday. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Mid-America Apartment Communities from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $148.00 to $190.00 in a report on Monday, March 10th. Scotiabank reduced their price objective on Mid-America Apartment Communities from $194.00 to $180.00 and set a "sector outperform" rating for the company in a report on Friday, June 13th. Robert W. Baird upped their price target on shares of Mid-America Apartment Communities from $161.00 to $162.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, JMP Securities upped their price target on shares of Mid-America Apartment Communities from $160.00 to $170.00 and gave the company a "market outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 22nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $169.76.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Mid-America Apartment Communities news, EVP Amber Fairbanks sold 173 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 2nd. The stock was 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 directly owns 3,012 shares in the company, valued at $502,552.20. This represents a 5.43% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO H Eric Bolton, Jr. sold 2,643 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $149.93, for a total value of $396,264.99. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 319,813 shares of the company's stock, valued at $47,949,563.09. The trade was a 0.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 7,313 shares of company stock worth $1,171,707 in the last three months. 1.30% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding MAA? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Mid-America Apartment Communities, Inc. (NYSE:MAA - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.