Korea Investment CORP Grows Holdings in Mid-America Apartment Communities, Inc. (NYSE:MAA)

Korea Investment CORP lifted its position in shares of Mid-America Apartment Communities, Inc. (NYSE:MAA) by 135.4% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 69,632 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after purchasing an additional 40,052 shares during the period. Korea Investment CORP’s holdings in Mid-America Apartment Communities were worth $10,763,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of MAA. Cerity Partners LLC grew its holdings in Mid-America Apartment Communities by 169.7% in the third quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 13,511 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $2,147,000 after purchasing an additional 8,501 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company grew its stake in Mid-America Apartment Communities by 1.5% in the 3rd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 89,290 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $14,188,000 after acquiring an additional 1,308 shares during the period. D.A. Davidson & CO. increased its holdings in Mid-America Apartment Communities by 4.2% in the 3rd quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 2,297 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $365,000 after acquiring an additional 93 shares in the last quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP acquired a new position in Mid-America Apartment Communities during the third quarter worth $249,000. Finally, Public Sector Pension Investment Board lifted its holdings in Mid-America Apartment Communities by 25.4% during the third quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 20,311 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $3,227,000 after purchasing an additional 4,110 shares in the last quarter. 93.60% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently commented on MAA shares. BMO Capital Markets cut their target price on shares of Mid-America Apartment Communities from $157.00 to $155.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Morgan Stanley raised Mid-America Apartment Communities from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their target price for the company from $159.50 to $168.00 in a report on Friday, January 24th. Scotiabank raised Mid-America Apartment Communities from a “sector perform” rating to a “sector outperform” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $173.00 to $182.00 in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on Mid-America Apartment Communities from $155.00 to $159.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price 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. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $168.90.

Mid-America Apartment Communities Trading Up 0.4 %

Shares of NYSE MAA opened at $165.93 on Monday. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $159.61 and a 200-day simple moving average of $157.52. Mid-America Apartment Communities, Inc. has a twelve month low of $123.73 and a twelve month high of $173.38. The company has a current ratio of 0.08, a quick ratio of 0.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81. The stock has a market capitalization of $19.40 billion, a PE ratio of 37.04, a PEG ratio of 3.72 and a beta of 0.90.

Mid-America Apartment Communities (NYSE:MAA) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The real estate investment trust reported $2.23 earnings per share 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%. On average, equities analysts forecast that Mid-America Apartment Communities, Inc. will post 8.84 earnings per share for the current year.

Mid-America Apartment Communities Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 15th will be issued a dividend of $1.515 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 15th. This represents a $6.06 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.65%. Mid-America Apartment Communities’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 135.27%.

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.