Paradigm Asset Management Co. LLC Purchases 6,300 Shares of Mid-America Apartment Communities, Inc. (NYSE:MAA)

Paradigm Asset Management Co. LLC boosted its position in shares of Mid-America Apartment Communities, Inc. (NYSE:MAA) by 1,582.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 6,698 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after buying an additional 6,300 shares during the quarter. Paradigm Asset Management Co. LLC’s holdings in Mid-America Apartment Communities were worth $1,035,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Inspire Investing LLC raised its holdings in Mid-America Apartment Communities by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 7,978 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $1,233,000 after buying an additional 68 shares during the last quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC increased its position in Mid-America Apartment Communities by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 11,220 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $1,704,000 after purchasing an additional 69 shares during the period. Chesley Taft & Associates LLC increased its position in Mid-America Apartment Communities by 1.6% during the 4th quarter. Chesley Taft & Associates LLC now owns 4,828 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $746,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares during the period. UMB Bank n.a. increased its position in Mid-America Apartment Communities by 30.5% during the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 321 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $50,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares during the period. Finally, Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. increased its position in Mid-America Apartment Communities by 1.4% during the 3rd quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 6,057 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $962,000 after purchasing an additional 82 shares during the period. 93.60% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Mid-America Apartment Communities Stock Performance

Shares of MAA stock opened at $160.09 on Friday. Mid-America Apartment Communities, Inc. has a one year low of $123.23 and a one year high of $167.39. The company’s 50-day moving average is $153.22 and its 200 day moving average is $156.08. The company has a market capitalization of $18.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.73, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.66 and a beta of 0.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.08 and a current ratio of 0.08.

Mid-America Apartment Communities (NYSE:MAA) last posted 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 net margin of 24.03% and a return on equity of 8.53%. Sell-side analysts expect that Mid-America Apartment Communities, Inc. will post 8.84 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Mid-America Apartment Communities Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 31st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, January 15th were paid a dividend of $1.515 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, January 15th. This represents a $6.06 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.79%. This is a boost from Mid-America Apartment Communities’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.47. Mid-America Apartment Communities’s dividend payout ratio is currently 135.27%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the stock. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price objective on shares of Mid-America Apartment Communities from $157.00 to $155.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. StockNews.com raised shares of Mid-America Apartment Communities from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Mizuho reduced their price objective on shares of Mid-America Apartment Communities from $163.00 to $159.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Morgan Stanley raised shares of Mid-America Apartment Communities from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $159.50 to $168.00 in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Barclays upped their target price on shares of Mid-America Apartment Communities from $152.00 to $163.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Mid-America Apartment Communities has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $167.00.

Mid-America Apartment Communities 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.