Russell Investments Group Ltd. Purchases 304,021 Shares of Mid-America Apartment Communities, Inc. (NYSE:MAA)

Russell Investments Group Ltd. grew its holdings in Mid-America Apartment Communities, Inc. (NYSE:MAA) by 200.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 455,640 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after buying an additional 304,021 shares during the quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. owned approximately 0.39% of Mid-America Apartment Communities worth $70,300,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Mid-America Apartment Communities in the fourth quarter worth about $826,562,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its holdings in Mid-America Apartment Communities by 26.9% during the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 3,344,862 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $517,015,000 after purchasing an additional 708,125 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in Mid-America Apartment Communities in the 4th quarter worth approximately $95,671,000. Aew Capital Management L P raised its position in shares of Mid-America Apartment Communities by 516.3% during the 4th quarter. Aew Capital Management L P now owns 630,994 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $97,533,000 after purchasing an additional 528,608 shares during the period. Finally, Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co. raised its holdings in Mid-America Apartment Communities by 271.3% during the fourth quarter. Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co. now owns 289,188 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $44,700,000 after acquiring an additional 211,308 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 93.60% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the company. KeyCorp upgraded Mid-America Apartment Communities from a “sector weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $180.00 price target for the company in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on shares of Mid-America Apartment Communities from $174.00 to $164.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 24th. Raymond James raised their price target on Mid-America Apartment Communities from $180.00 to $185.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. Evercore ISI increased their price target on shares of Mid-America Apartment Communities from $155.00 to $159.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Barclays boosted their target price on Mid-America Apartment Communities from $152.00 to $163.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Mid-America Apartment Communities presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $168.90.

Mid-America Apartment Communities Trading Down 6.4 %

Mid-America Apartment Communities stock opened at $153.15 on Friday. Mid-America Apartment Communities, Inc. has a 52 week low of $123.73 and a 52 week high of $173.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.08 and a current ratio of 0.08. The firm has a market capitalization of $17.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.18, a P/E/G ratio of 3.72 and a beta of 0.90. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $161.14 and a 200 day moving average price of $157.53.

Mid-America Apartment Communities (NYSE:MAA) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The real estate investment trust reported $2.23 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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%. Research analysts forecast that Mid-America Apartment Communities, Inc. will post 8.84 EPS for the current year.

Mid-America Apartment Communities Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 15th will be given a $1.515 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 15th. This represents a $6.06 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.96%. Mid-America Apartment Communities’s dividend payout ratio is currently 135.27%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO H Eric Bolton, Jr. sold 4,358 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $166.24, for a total value of $724,473.92. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 324,171 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $53,890,187.04. This represents a 1.33 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 1.30% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.