Bank of Nova Scotia Raises Stake in Mid-America Apartment Communities, Inc. (NYSE:MAA)

Bank of Nova Scotia boosted its stake in Mid-America Apartment Communities, Inc. (NYSE:MAA) by 3.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 16,136 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after acquiring an additional 467 shares during the period. Bank of Nova Scotia’s holdings in Mid-America Apartment Communities were worth $2,493,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Inspire Investing LLC raised its holdings in shares of Mid-America Apartment Communities by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 7,978 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $1,233,000 after purchasing an additional 68 shares during the period. IFP Advisors Inc grew its stake in shares of Mid-America Apartment Communities by 37.2% during the 4th quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 251 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $39,000 after acquiring an additional 68 shares during the period. Sanctuary Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Mid-America Apartment Communities by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 11,220 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $1,704,000 after acquiring an additional 69 shares during the last quarter. Huntington National Bank raised its stake in Mid-America Apartment Communities by 6.4% in the 4th quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 1,168 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $181,000 after acquiring an additional 70 shares during the period. Finally, Chesley Taft & Associates LLC lifted its holdings in Mid-America Apartment Communities by 1.6% during the fourth quarter. Chesley Taft & Associates LLC now owns 4,828 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $746,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares during the last quarter. 93.60% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Mid-America Apartment Communities Trading Down 0.4 %

NYSE MAA opened at $154.24 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $161.35 and a 200-day moving average of $157.11. The company has a current ratio of 0.08, a quick ratio of 0.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81. Mid-America Apartment Communities, Inc. has a 1-year low of $123.73 and a 1-year high of $173.38. The firm has a market cap of $18.03 billion, a PE ratio of 34.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.72 and a beta of 0.79.

Mid-America Apartment Communities (NYSE:MAA) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The real estate investment trust reported $2.23 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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%. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Mid-America Apartment Communities, Inc. will post 8.84 EPS for the current year.

Mid-America Apartment Communities Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 15th will be given a $1.515 dividend. This represents a $6.06 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.93%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 15th. Mid-America Apartment Communities’s payout ratio is 135.27%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on shares of 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. Mizuho reduced their price objective on shares of Mid-America Apartment Communities from $163.00 to $159.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Mid-America Apartment Communities from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $148.00 to $190.00 in a research note on Monday, March 10th. Scotiabank upgraded shares of Mid-America Apartment Communities from a “sector perform” rating to a “sector outperform” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $173.00 to $182.00 in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Finally, Barclays lowered their price objective on Mid-America Apartment Communities from $163.00 to $160.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $168.76.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO H Eric Bolton, Jr. sold 2,643 shares of the business’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 transaction of $396,264.99. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 319,813 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $47,949,563.09. The trade was a 0.82 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 7,140 shares of company stock valued at $1,142,842. 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.