Certior Financial Group LLC Acquires Shares of 2,257 Mid-America Apartment Communities, Inc. (NYSE:MAA)

Certior Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Mid-America Apartment Communities, Inc. (NYSE:MAA) in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor acquired 2,257 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock, valued at approximately $349,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Mid-America Apartment Communities during the 3rd quarter worth about $2,890,000. Metis Global Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Mid-America Apartment Communities by 9.5% in the fourth quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC now owns 17,273 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $2,670,000 after purchasing an additional 1,499 shares in the last quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its holdings in Mid-America Apartment Communities by 2.4% during the third quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 180,689 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $28,711,000 after purchasing an additional 4,301 shares in the last quarter. Paradigm Asset Management Co. LLC lifted its position in shares of Mid-America Apartment Communities by 1,582.9% during the 4th quarter. Paradigm Asset Management Co. LLC now owns 6,698 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $1,035,000 after buying an additional 6,300 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Capital Investment Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Mid-America Apartment Communities by 27.1% in the 4th quarter. Capital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 58,484 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $9,040,000 after buying an additional 12,454 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.60% of the company’s stock.

Mid-America Apartment Communities Stock Performance

Shares of MAA opened at $153.15 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.08, a current ratio of 0.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81. Mid-America Apartment Communities, Inc. has a 52-week low of $123.73 and a 52-week high of $173.38. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $161.14 and a 200-day simple moving average of $157.49. The company has a market capitalization of $17.90 billion, a PE ratio of 34.18, a P/E/G ratio of 3.72 and a beta of 0.90.

Mid-America Apartment Communities (NYSE:MAA) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The real estate investment trust reported $2.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.04 by $1.19. Mid-America Apartment Communities had a net margin of 24.03% and a return on equity of 8.53%. Equities 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 Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 15th will be given a dividend of $1.515 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 15th. This represents a $6.06 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.96%. Mid-America Apartment Communities’s payout ratio is 135.27%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. StockNews.com raised shares of Mid-America Apartment Communities from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday. Scotiabank raised Mid-America Apartment Communities from a “sector perform” rating to a “sector outperform” rating and upped their target price for the company from $173.00 to $182.00 in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on Mid-America Apartment Communities from $158.00 to $161.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Jefferies Financial Group raised Mid-America Apartment Communities from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $148.00 to $190.00 in a report on Monday, March 10th. Finally, Barclays upped their price target on shares of Mid-America Apartment Communities from $152.00 to $163.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Mid-America Apartment Communities presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $168.90.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO H Eric Bolton, Jr. sold 4,358 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $166.24, for a total value of $724,473.92. Following the sale, 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Company insiders own 1.30% of the company’s stock.

About Mid-America Apartment Communities

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.