ING Groep NV Trims Stock Position in Mid-America Apartment Communities, Inc. (NYSE:MAA)

ING Groep NV decreased its stake in Mid-America Apartment Communities, Inc. (NYSE:MAA) by 4.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 14,928 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 703 shares during the quarter. ING Groep NV’s holdings in Mid-America Apartment Communities were worth $2,307,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new position in Mid-America Apartment Communities in the third quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Activest Wealth Management acquired a new position in shares of Mid-America Apartment Communities in the 3rd quarter valued at $32,000. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Mid-America Apartment Communities during the third quarter worth $37,000. Quarry LP acquired a new stake in Mid-America Apartment Communities during the third quarter valued at $45,000. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. increased its holdings in Mid-America Apartment Communities by 30.5% in the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 321 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $50,000 after buying an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. 93.60% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Mid-America Apartment Communities Price Performance

MAA stock opened at $160.65 on Friday. Mid-America Apartment Communities, Inc. has a 1 year low of $123.23 and a 1 year high of $167.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 0.08 and a quick ratio of 0.08. The firm has a market capitalization of $18.78 billion, a PE ratio of 35.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.72 and a beta of 0.91. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $153.29 and a 200-day simple moving average of $156.22.

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 the consensus estimate 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%. Equities research analysts anticipate that Mid-America Apartment Communities, Inc. will post 8.84 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Mid-America Apartment Communities Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 31st. Investors of record on Wednesday, January 15th were given a dividend of $1.515 per share. This is a boost from Mid-America Apartment Communities’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.47. This represents a $6.06 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.77%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, January 15th. Mid-America Apartment Communities’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 135.27%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MAA has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Scotiabank raised shares of Mid-America Apartment Communities from a “sector perform” rating to a “sector outperform” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $173.00 to $182.00 in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Barclays raised their price objective on Mid-America Apartment Communities from $152.00 to $163.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday. Evercore ISI upped their target price on Mid-America Apartment Communities from $155.00 to $159.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. KeyCorp upgraded Mid-America Apartment Communities from a “sector weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $180.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on shares of Mid-America Apartment Communities from $158.00 to $161.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Mid-America Apartment Communities currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $167.00.

Mid-America Apartment Communities Company Profile

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.