Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC Boosts Holdings in Mid-America Apartment Communities, Inc. (NYSE:MAA)

Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC grew its position in shares of Mid-America Apartment Communities, Inc. (NYSE:MAA) by 19.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 25,398 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,104 shares during the period. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC’s holdings in Mid-America Apartment Communities were worth $3,926,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MAA. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Mid-America Apartment Communities in the fourth quarter worth approximately $826,562,000. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its stake in Mid-America Apartment Communities by 516.4% in the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 1,074,223 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $170,694,000 after acquiring an additional 899,960 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its position 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 in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in Mid-America Apartment Communities during the fourth quarter worth about $95,671,000. Finally, Aew Capital Management L P boosted its holdings in shares of Mid-America Apartment Communities by 516.3% in the 4th quarter. Aew Capital Management L P now owns 630,994 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $97,533,000 after purchasing an additional 528,608 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 93.60% of the company’s stock.

Mid-America Apartment Communities Trading Up 0.4 %

NYSE:MAA opened at $165.93 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 0.08, a quick ratio of 0.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81. Mid-America Apartment Communities, Inc. has a 12 month low of $123.73 and a 12 month high of $173.38. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $159.61 and a 200-day moving average price of $157.52. The stock has a market cap of $19.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.04, a P/E/G ratio of 3.72 and a beta of 0.90.

Mid-America Apartment Communities (NYSE:MAA) last released its quarterly 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%. Equities analysts predict that Mid-America Apartment Communities, Inc. will post 8.84 EPS for the current year.

Mid-America Apartment Communities Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 15th will be paid a $1.515 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 15th. This represents a $6.06 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.65%. Mid-America Apartment Communities’s payout ratio is 135.27%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on MAA shares. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price objective 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, January 21st. Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Mid-America Apartment Communities from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $159.50 to $168.00 in a report on Friday, January 24th. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Mid-America Apartment Communities from $152.00 to $163.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Scotiabank raised shares of Mid-America Apartment Communities from a “sector perform” rating to a “sector outperform” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $173.00 to $182.00 in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on Mid-America Apartment Communities from $158.00 to $161.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Mid-America Apartment Communities has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $168.90.

About Mid-America Apartment Communities

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.