Sarasin & Partners LLP Sells 1,475 Shares of Mid-America Apartment Communities, Inc. (NYSE:MAA)

Sarasin & Partners LLP trimmed its stake in shares of Mid-America Apartment Communities, Inc. (NYSE:MAA) by 9.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 13,560 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 1,475 shares during the quarter. Sarasin & Partners LLP’s holdings in Mid-America Apartment Communities were worth $2,096,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new stake in shares of Mid-America Apartment Communities during the 3rd quarter valued at $25,000. Activest Wealth Management acquired a new position in shares of Mid-America Apartment Communities during the 3rd quarter worth $32,000. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Mid-America Apartment Communities during the 3rd quarter worth $37,000. Quarry LP acquired a new position in shares of Mid-America Apartment Communities during the 3rd quarter worth $45,000. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Mid-America Apartment Communities by 252.3% during the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 391 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $55,000 after buying an additional 280 shares in the last quarter. 93.60% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently commented on MAA. Barclays began coverage on Mid-America Apartment Communities in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $166.00 price target for the company. JMP Securities reissued a “market outperform” rating and set a $160.00 price target on shares of Mid-America Apartment Communities in a report on Friday, January 10th. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their target price on Mid-America Apartment Communities from $169.00 to $165.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 1st. Raymond James raised Mid-America Apartment Communities from a “market perform” rating to a “strong-buy” rating and set a $175.00 target price for the company in a report on Monday, October 21st. Finally, StockNews.com cut Mid-America Apartment Communities from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Mid-America Apartment Communities currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $166.92.

Mid-America Apartment Communities Stock Down 0.1 %

Shares of Mid-America Apartment Communities stock opened at $150.44 on Monday. Mid-America Apartment Communities, Inc. has a one year low of $121.51 and a one year high of $167.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 0.09 and a quick ratio of 0.09. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $156.20 and its 200 day moving average is $154.27. The firm has a market cap of $17.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.96, a PEG ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 0.91.

Mid-America Apartment Communities (NYSE:MAA) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.98 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.18 by ($1.20). Mid-America Apartment Communities had a net margin of 23.84% and a return on equity of 8.38%. The business had revenue of $551.13 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $548.53 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.29 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.7% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that Mid-America Apartment Communities, Inc. will post 8.89 EPS for the current year.

Mid-America Apartment Communities Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 31st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, January 15th will be issued a $1.515 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, January 15th. This represents a $6.06 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.03%. This is a positive change from Mid-America Apartment Communities’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.47. Mid-America Apartment Communities’s dividend payout ratio is presently 132.73%.

Mid-America Apartment Communities Company Profile

MAA, an S&P 500 company, is a real estate investment trust (REIT) focused on delivering full-cycle and superior investment performance for shareholders through the ownership, management, acquisition, development and redevelopment of quality apartment communities primarily in the Southeast, Southwest and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States.