River Road Asset Management LLC Makes New Investment in Mid-America Apartment Communities, Inc. (NYSE:MAA)

River Road Asset Management LLC bought a new position in Mid-America Apartment Communities, Inc. (NYSE:MAA) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 50,137 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock, valued at approximately $6,741,000.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Mid-America Apartment Communities in the 3rd quarter worth $35,000. First Financial Corp IN raised its position in shares of Mid-America Apartment Communities by 40.8% in the 4th quarter. First Financial Corp IN now owns 297 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $40,000 after buying an additional 86 shares during the period. CVA Family Office LLC purchased a new position in shares of Mid-America Apartment Communities in the 4th quarter worth $40,000. Emfo LLC purchased a new position in shares of Mid-America Apartment Communities in the 4th quarter worth $40,000. Finally, Quarry LP raised its position in shares of Mid-America Apartment Communities by 186.5% in the 1st quarter. Quarry LP now owns 275 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $42,000 after buying an additional 179 shares during the period. 93.60% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Mid-America Apartment Communities Stock Up 0.8 %

Shares of NYSE MAA opened at $124.80 on Thursday. Mid-America Apartment Communities, Inc. has a 1 year low of $115.56 and a 1 year high of $158.46. The firm has a market cap of $14.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.50, a PEG ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a quick ratio of 0.09 and a current ratio of 0.09. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $128.88 and its 200-day simple moving average is $128.67.

Mid-America Apartment Communities (NYSE:MAA) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 8th. The real estate investment trust reported $1.37 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.30 by ($0.93). The firm had revenue of $542.25 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $542.64 million. Mid-America Apartment Communities had a net margin of 25.73% and a return on equity of 8.74%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 2.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.32 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Mid-America Apartment Communities, Inc. will post 8.91 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Mid-America Apartment Communities Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 30th. Investors of record on Monday, April 15th will be issued a $1.47 dividend. This represents a $5.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.71%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 12th. Mid-America Apartment Communities’s dividend payout ratio is currently 124.84%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Truist Financial cut their target price on Mid-America Apartment Communities from $152.00 to $148.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 9th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and issued a $136.00 target price on shares of Mid-America Apartment Communities in a research report on Friday, February 9th. Piper Sandler reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $140.00 price objective on shares of Mid-America Apartment Communities in a research report on Tuesday, March 26th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Mid-America Apartment Communities from $128.00 to $129.50 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 26th. Finally, Scotiabank raised Mid-America Apartment Communities from a “sector underperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $133.00 to $147.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 16th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $143.18.

Insider Activity at Mid-America Apartment Communities

In related news, CEO H Eric Bolton, Jr. sold 2,642 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $126.07, for a total value of $333,076.94. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 317,737 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $40,057,103.59. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders sold a total of 2,807 shares of company stock valued at $353,955 over the last three months. 1.33% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Mid-America Apartment Communities Profile

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.