Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC Buys 2,915 Shares of Mid-America Apartment Communities, Inc. (NYSE:MAA)

Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC lifted its position in Mid-America Apartment Communities, Inc. (NYSE:MAA - Free Report) by 21.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 16,539 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after buying an additional 2,915 shares during the quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC's holdings in Mid-America Apartment Communities were worth $2,557,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Virtu Financial LLC bought a new position in shares of Mid-America Apartment Communities in the third quarter worth about $1,162,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new stake in Mid-America Apartment Communities in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $63,000. Tidal Investments LLC increased its position in Mid-America Apartment Communities by 16.4% in the 3rd quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 54,192 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $8,611,000 after buying an additional 7,644 shares during the period. Synovus Financial Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Mid-America Apartment Communities by 5.8% during the third quarter. Synovus Financial Corp now owns 29,763 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $4,729,000 after buying an additional 1,629 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Mid-America Apartment Communities by 3.3% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 143,909 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $22,867,000 after acquiring an additional 4,618 shares during the period. 93.60% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MAA has been the subject of several research reports. Scotiabank upgraded shares of Mid-America Apartment Communities from a "sector perform" rating to a "sector outperform" rating and increased their target price for the company from $173.00 to $182.00 in a research note on Friday, February 14th. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price objective on Mid-America Apartment Communities from $157.00 to $155.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on Mid-America Apartment Communities from $174.00 to $164.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price 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. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Mid-America Apartment Communities from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $168.76.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related 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 stock was sold at an average price of $149.93, for a total value 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. This trade represents a 0.82 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 7,140 shares of company stock valued at $1,142,842. Company insiders own 1.30% of the company's stock.

Mid-America Apartment Communities Trading Down 0.1 %

MAA stock traded down $0.12 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $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 one year low of $126.77 and a one year high of $173.38. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $161.38 and its 200-day moving average price is $157.24. The company has a market cap of $18.63 billion, a PE ratio of 35.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.72 and a beta of 0.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.08 and a current ratio of 0.08.

Mid-America Apartment Communities (NYSE:MAA - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The real estate investment trust reported $2.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.04 by $1.19. Mid-America Apartment Communities had a return on equity of 8.53% and a net margin of 24.03%. 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 business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 15th will be given a $1.515 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 15th. This represents a $6.06 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.80%. Mid-America Apartment Communities's dividend payout ratio is currently 135.27%.

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.