USS Investment Management Ltd Decreases Stock Position in Mid-America Apartment Communities, Inc. (NYSE:MAA)

USS Investment Management Ltd reduced its position in Mid-America Apartment Communities, Inc. (NYSE:MAA - Free Report) by 32.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 28,462 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after selling 13,790 shares during the quarter. USS Investment Management Ltd's holdings in Mid-America Apartment Communities were worth $4,399,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other large investors have also bought and sold shares of MAA. Park Avenue Securities LLC increased its position in Mid-America Apartment Communities by 36.4% in the fourth quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 2,876 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $445,000 after buying an additional 768 shares during the last quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Mid-America Apartment Communities in the fourth quarter valued at $577,000. UMB Bank n.a. grew its position in shares of Mid-America Apartment Communities by 30.5% in the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 321 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $50,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. Baker Ellis Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in Mid-America Apartment Communities by 2.6% during the fourth quarter. Baker Ellis Asset Management LLC now owns 43,998 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $6,801,000 after buying an additional 1,110 shares during the period. Finally, Janney Montgomery Scott LLC boosted its stake in Mid-America Apartment Communities by 1.8% during the fourth quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 22,154 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $3,424,000 after buying an additional 382 shares during the period. 93.60% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Mid-America Apartment Communities Price Performance

Shares of MAA opened at $154.38 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $18.07 billion, a PE ratio of 34.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.72 and a beta of 0.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 0.08 and a quick ratio of 0.08. Mid-America Apartment Communities, Inc. has a 1-year low of $126.77 and a 1-year high of $173.38. The company's fifty day moving average price is $160.10 and its 200-day moving average price is $158.26.

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 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $551.21 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.22 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts predict that Mid-America Apartment Communities, Inc. will post 8.84 EPS for the current year.

Mid-America Apartment Communities Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 31st. Investors of record on Tuesday, July 15th will be given a dividend of $1.515 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, July 15th. This represents a $6.06 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.93%. Mid-America Apartment Communities's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 126.25%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on MAA shares. Barclays lifted their price objective on Mid-America Apartment Communities from $160.00 to $172.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday, May 9th. JMP Securities lifted their price objective on Mid-America Apartment Communities from $160.00 to $170.00 and gave the company a "market outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday. Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on Mid-America Apartment Communities from $161.00 to $162.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Wall Street Zen lowered Mid-America Apartment Communities from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised Mid-America Apartment Communities from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $159.50 to $168.00 in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $169.41.

Insider Buying and Selling at Mid-America Apartment Communities

In other news, CEO H Eric Bolton, Jr. sold 4,358 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $166.24, for a total value of $724,473.92. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 324,171 shares of the company's stock, valued at $53,890,187.04. This represents a 1.33% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Amber Fairbanks sold 173 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 directly owns 3,012 shares of the company's stock, 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 quarter, insiders sold 7,313 shares of company stock worth $1,171,707. Insiders own 1.20% of the company's stock.

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.

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