Mid-America Apartment Communities, Inc. $MAA Shares Bought by Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund

Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund raised its stake in shares of Mid-America Apartment Communities, Inc. (NYSE:MAA) by 43.4% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 73,559 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after acquiring an additional 22,267 shares during the period. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund’s holdings in Mid-America Apartment Communities were worth $8,661,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in MAA. Woodley Farra Manion Portfolio Management Inc. increased its holdings in Mid-America Apartment Communities by 8.7% in the 3rd quarter. Woodley Farra Manion Portfolio Management Inc. now owns 18,844 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $2,219,000 after purchasing an additional 1,508 shares during the last quarter. Keybank National Association OH raised its position in Mid-America Apartment Communities by 1.8% in the third quarter. Keybank National Association OH now owns 4,970 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $585,000 after purchasing an additional 88 shares during the period. Fulcrum Asset Management LLP raised its position in Mid-America Apartment Communities by 558.3% in the third quarter. Fulcrum Asset Management LLP now owns 2,291 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $271,000 after purchasing an additional 1,943 shares during the period. Carnegie Lake Advisors LLC raised its position in Mid-America Apartment Communities by 10.9% in the third quarter. Carnegie Lake Advisors LLC now owns 5,546 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $653,000 after purchasing an additional 546 shares during the period. Finally, Pictet Asset Management Holding SA lifted its stake in Mid-America Apartment Communities by 0.4% during the third quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 50,206 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $5,911,000 after purchasing an additional 222 shares in the last quarter. 93.60% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently commented on MAA shares. KeyCorp restated an “overweight” rating on shares of Mid-America Apartment Communities in a research report on Tuesday, September 29th. Scotiabank cut their price objective on Mid-America Apartment Communities from $134.00 to $125.00 and set a “sector underperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, September 17th. Morgan Stanley downgraded Mid-America Apartment Communities from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and cut their price objective for the company from $147.00 to $134.00 in a report on Wednesday. Cantor Fitzgerald decreased their target price on Mid-America Apartment Communities from $140.00 to $127.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday. Finally, Weiss Ratings cut Mid-America Apartment Communities from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 3rd. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $136.82.

Mid-America Apartment Communities Stock Down 1.5%

Shares of NYSE MAA opened at $116.44 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $13.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.28 and a beta of 0.71. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $119.34 and its 200-day simple moving average is $128.44. Mid-America Apartment Communities, Inc. has a 12-month low of $113.95 and a 12-month high of $144.41. The company has a current ratio of 0.11, a quick ratio of 0.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.08.

Mid-America Apartment Communities (NYSE:MAA) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 28th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.72 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.10 by ($1.38). Mid-America Apartment Communities had a return on equity of 6.89% and a net margin of 17.43%. The company had revenue of $560.13 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $558.07 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.16 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that Mid-America Apartment Communities, Inc. will post 8.50 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Mid-America Apartment Communities Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 30th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 15th were given a $1.53 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, October 15th. This represents a $6.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.3%. Mid-America Apartment Communities’s dividend payout ratio is currently 185.45%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Mid-America Apartment Communities

In other news, EVP Adrian Hill acquired 844 shares of Mid-America Apartment Communities stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 30th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $118.35 per share, for a total transaction of $99,887.40. Following the acquisition, the executive vice president owned 65,277 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,725,532.95. This trade represents a 1.31% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.60% of the company’s stock.

Mid-America Apartment Communities Company Profile

Mid-America Apartment Communities, Inc. (MAA) is a real estate investment trust that owns, operates, acquires and develops apartment communities. Its properties offer rental housing and related resident services and amenities. The company focuses primarily on markets across the southeastern and southwestern United States, as well as select Mid-Atlantic locations. Its portfolio includes communities in urban and suburban areas. Headquartered in Germantown, Tennessee, MAA has been led by President and Chief Executive Officer H. Eric Bolton Jr. since 2001.