Aew Capital Management L P Sells 21,260 Shares of Mid-America Apartment Communities, Inc. (NYSE:MAA)

Aew Capital Management L P decreased its position in shares of Mid-America Apartment Communities, Inc. (NYSE:MAA) by 15.6% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 115,276 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 21,260 shares during the quarter. Aew Capital Management L P’s holdings in Mid-America Apartment Communities were worth $15,500,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. bought a new stake in Mid-America Apartment Communities in the third quarter worth $35,000. First Financial Corp IN increased its position in Mid-America Apartment Communities by 40.8% in the fourth quarter. First Financial Corp IN now owns 297 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 86 shares during the last quarter. CVA Family Office LLC bought a new stake in Mid-America Apartment Communities in the fourth quarter worth $40,000. Emfo LLC bought a new stake in Mid-America Apartment Communities in the fourth quarter worth $40,000. Finally, Lindbrook Capital LLC increased its position in Mid-America Apartment Communities by 36.1% in the third quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 400 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $51,000 after purchasing an additional 106 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 93.60% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO H Eric Bolton, Jr. sold 2,642 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $126.07, for a total value of $333,076.94. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 317,737 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $40,057,103.59. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders sold a total of 2,807 shares of company stock valued at $353,955 over the last three months. 1.30% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on MAA shares. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “hold” rating and issued a $136.00 price target (down previously from $140.00) on shares of Mid-America Apartment Communities in a research report on Tuesday, January 2nd. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “buy” rating and issued a $149.00 price target on shares of Mid-America Apartment Communities in a research report on Thursday, February 22nd. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of Mid-America Apartment Communities from $128.00 to $129.50 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 26th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft started coverage on shares of Mid-America Apartment Communities in a research note on Tuesday, January 30th. They set a “hold” rating and a $139.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and set a $136.00 price objective on shares of Mid-America Apartment Communities in a research note on Friday, February 9th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Mid-America Apartment Communities has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $143.18.

Mid-America Apartment Communities Trading Up 1.6 %

Shares of MAA traded up $2.04 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $129.24. 874,720 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 877,239. The firm has a market cap of $15.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.44, a PEG ratio of 2.88 and a beta of 0.80. Mid-America Apartment Communities, Inc. has a 12-month low of $115.56 and a 12-month high of $158.46. The company has a current ratio of 0.09, a quick ratio of 0.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $129.06 and its 200 day moving average price is $128.62.

Mid-America Apartment Communities (NYSE:MAA) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 8th. The real estate investment trust reported $1.37 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.30 by ($0.93). The company had revenue of $542.25 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $542.64 million. Mid-America Apartment Communities had a net margin of 25.73% and a return on equity of 8.74%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.32 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that Mid-America Apartment Communities, Inc. will post 8.92 earnings per share for the current year.

Mid-America Apartment Communities Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 30th. Investors of record on Monday, April 15th will be paid a $1.47 dividend. This represents a $5.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.55%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 12th. Mid-America Apartment Communities’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 124.84%.

About Mid-America Apartment Communities

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.