Phocas Financial Corp. Buys Shares of 1,695 Mid-America Apartment Communities, Inc. (NYSE:MAA)

Phocas Financial Corp. bought a new position in Mid-America Apartment Communities, Inc. (NYSE:MAA - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm bought 1,695 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock, valued at approximately $262,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Capital World Investors raised its holdings in Mid-America Apartment Communities by 45.9% in the 4th 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 buying an additional 2,088,143 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Mid-America Apartment Communities in the 4th quarter valued at about $826,562,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised 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 valued at $517,015,000 after buying an additional 708,125 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised 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 valued at $492,421,000 after buying an additional 52,050 shares during the period. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised 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 valued at $410,641,000 after buying an additional 40,436 shares during the period. 93.60% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Mid-America Apartment Communities

In related news, EVP Amber Fairbanks sold 173 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, May 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $166.85, for a total transaction of $28,865.05. Following the transaction, 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO H Eric Bolton, Jr. sold 2,643 shares of the company's stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 319,813 shares in the company, valued at $47,949,563.09. This represents a 0.82% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 7,313 shares of company stock worth $1,171,707 over the last 90 days. 1.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently issued reports on MAA shares. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Mid-America Apartment Communities from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday. Mizuho lowered their price objective on Mid-America Apartment Communities from $166.00 to $161.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 23rd. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on Mid-America Apartment Communities from $158.00 to $161.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Raymond James cut Mid-America Apartment Communities from a "strong-buy" rating to an "outperform" rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $185.00 to $175.00 in a research note on Thursday, May 15th. Finally, JMP Securities boosted their target price on Mid-America Apartment Communities from $160.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock a "market outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Mid-America Apartment Communities presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $169.50.

Mid-America Apartment Communities Stock Performance

Shares of Mid-America Apartment Communities stock traded up $0.80 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $156.55. 1,329,352 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 749,615. Mid-America Apartment Communities, Inc. has a 1 year low of $133.19 and a 1 year high of $173.38. The company has a current ratio of 0.08, a quick ratio of 0.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81. The business has a 50-day moving average of $159.14 and a 200-day moving average of $158.14. The stock has a market capitalization of $18.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.94, a P/E/G ratio of 3.72 and a beta of 0.80.

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

Mid-America Apartment Communities Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 31st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, July 15th will be paid a dividend of $1.515 per share. This represents a $6.06 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.87%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, July 15th. Mid-America Apartment Communities's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 126.25%.

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.