Chesley Taft & Associates LLC Increases Stake in Mid-America Apartment Communities, Inc. (NYSE:MAA)

Chesley Taft & Associates LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Mid-America Apartment Communities, Inc. (NYSE:MAA) by 1.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 4,828 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after buying an additional 75 shares during the quarter. Chesley Taft & Associates LLC’s holdings in Mid-America Apartment Communities were worth $746,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have commented on MAA shares. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price target on shares of Mid-America Apartment Communities from $169.00 to $165.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 1st. BMO Capital Markets dropped their target price on Mid-America Apartment Communities from $157.00 to $155.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday. Scotiabank decreased their price target on Mid-America Apartment Communities from $174.00 to $173.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, November 14th. StockNews.com downgraded Mid-America Apartment Communities from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Finally, Mizuho decreased their target price on Mid-America Apartment Communities from $163.00 to $159.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $166.29.

Mid-America Apartment Communities Stock Performance

NYSE MAA opened at $150.48 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $17.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.97, a P/E/G ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 0.91. Mid-America Apartment Communities, Inc. has a 52-week low of $121.51 and a 52-week high of $167.39. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $155.82 and its 200 day moving average price is $154.43. The company has a quick ratio of 0.09, a current ratio of 0.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80.

Mid-America Apartment Communities (NYSE:MAA) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.98 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.18 by ($1.20). Mid-America Apartment Communities had a net margin of 23.84% and a return on equity of 8.38%. The company had revenue of $551.13 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $548.53 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.29 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts expect that Mid-America Apartment Communities, Inc. will post 8.89 earnings per share for the current year.

Mid-America Apartment Communities Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 31st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, January 15th will be issued a $1.515 dividend. This is an increase from Mid-America Apartment Communities’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.47. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, January 15th. This represents a $6.06 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.03%. Mid-America Apartment Communities’s payout ratio is presently 136.79%.

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.