SG Americas Securities LLC Purchases 3,020 Shares of Mid-America Apartment Communities, Inc. (NYSE:MAA)

SG Americas Securities LLC raised its position in Mid-America Apartment Communities, Inc. (NYSE:MAA) by 94.1% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 6,229 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after buying an additional 3,020 shares during the quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC’s holdings in Mid-America Apartment Communities were worth $1,044,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MAA. Empowered Funds LLC grew its stake in shares of Mid-America Apartment Communities by 11.9% in the fourth quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 2,936 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $454,000 after acquiring an additional 312 shares in the last quarter. Principal Securities Inc. grew its position in shares of Mid-America Apartment Communities by 31.4% during the 4th quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 1,000 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $155,000 after purchasing an additional 239 shares in the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP grew its position in shares of Mid-America Apartment Communities by 4,612.1% during the 4th quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 22,288 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $3,279,000 after purchasing an additional 21,815 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Mid-America Apartment Communities by 31.6% during the fourth quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 189,428 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $29,280,000 after purchasing an additional 45,519 shares during the period. Finally, Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Mid-America Apartment Communities by 57.8% during the fourth quarter. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC now owns 363 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $56,000 after purchasing an additional 133 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 93.60% of the company’s stock.

Mid-America Apartment Communities Stock Performance

Shares of Mid-America Apartment Communities stock opened at $148.98 on Wednesday. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $156.90 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $157.32. The firm has a market capitalization of $17.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.04, a P/E/G ratio of 3.82 and a beta of 0.78. Mid-America Apartment Communities, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $137.51 and a fifty-two week high of $173.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 0.11 and a quick ratio of 0.11.

Mid-America Apartment Communities (NYSE:MAA) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The real estate investment trust reported $2.20 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.16 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $549.30 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $551.21 million. Mid-America Apartment Communities had a return on equity of 9.19% and a net margin of 25.70%. Mid-America Apartment Communities’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.22 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Mid-America Apartment Communities, Inc. will post 8.84 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Mid-America Apartment Communities Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 31st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, July 15th will be paid a dividend of $1.515 per share. This represents a $6.06 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.07%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, July 15th. Mid-America Apartment Communities’s payout ratio is currently 126.25%.

Insider Transactions at Mid-America Apartment Communities

In other news, EVP Amber Fairbanks sold 173 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, May 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $166.85, for a total transaction of $28,865.05. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 3,012 shares in the company, valued at $502,552.20. This represents a 5.43% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO H Eric Bolton, Jr. sold 4,358 shares of Mid-America Apartment Communities stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $166.24, for a total transaction of $724,473.92. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 324,171 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $53,890,187.04. This represents a 1.33% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 7,313 shares of company stock worth $1,171,707. Company insiders own 1.30% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on MAA shares. Raymond James Financial cut Mid-America Apartment Communities from a “strong-buy” rating to an “outperform” rating and cut their price target for the company from $185.00 to $175.00 in a research note on Thursday, May 15th. Scotiabank dropped their price objective on Mid-America Apartment Communities from $194.00 to $180.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, June 13th. Barclays increased their target price on Mid-America Apartment Communities from $160.00 to $172.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, May 9th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Mid-America Apartment Communities from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $148.00 to $190.00 in a research report on Monday, March 10th. Finally, Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on Mid-America Apartment Communities from $161.00 to $162.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Mid-America Apartment Communities has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $169.76.

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.