Sandy Spring Bank Has $69,000 Stake in Mid-America Apartment Communities, Inc. (NYSE:MAA)

Sandy Spring Bank raised its position in shares of Mid-America Apartment Communities, Inc. (NYSE:MAA) by 25.2% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 447 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after acquiring an additional 90 shares during the period. Sandy Spring Bank’s holdings in Mid-America Apartment Communities were worth $69,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. IFP Advisors Inc increased its holdings in shares of Mid-America Apartment Communities by 37.2% during the fourth quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 251 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $39,000 after buying an additional 68 shares in the last quarter. Quarry LP acquired a new stake in shares of Mid-America Apartment Communities in the third quarter valued at approximately $45,000. UMB Bank n.a. increased its holdings in shares of Mid-America Apartment Communities by 30.5% in the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 321 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $50,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Mid-America Apartment Communities by 57.8% in the fourth quarter. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC now owns 363 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $56,000 after purchasing an additional 133 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new stake in shares of Mid-America Apartment Communities in the third quarter valued at approximately $63,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.60% of the company’s stock.

Mid-America Apartment Communities Trading Down 0.9 %

MAA opened at $161.19 on Friday. 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 firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $158.21 and its 200 day simple moving average is $157.47. The stock has a market capitalization of $18.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.98, a P/E/G ratio of 3.72 and a beta of 0.90.

Mid-America Apartment Communities (NYSE:MAA) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The real estate investment trust reported $2.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.04 by $1.19. Mid-America Apartment Communities had a net margin of 24.03% and a return on equity of 8.53%. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Mid-America Apartment Communities, Inc. will post 8.84 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Mid-America Apartment Communities Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 15th will be paid a $1.515 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 15th. This represents a $6.06 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.76%. Mid-America Apartment Communities’s payout ratio is currently 135.27%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on MAA. Morgan Stanley raised shares of Mid-America Apartment Communities from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price target for the company from $159.50 to $168.00 in a report on Friday, January 24th. Raymond James raised their price target on shares of Mid-America Apartment Communities from $180.00 to $185.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday. Evercore ISI raised their price objective on shares of 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. StockNews.com raised shares of Mid-America Apartment Communities from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on shares of 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. One 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 company’s 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.

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.