Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. Acquires 7,092 Shares of Mid-America Apartment Communities, Inc. (NYSE:MAA)

Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Mid-America Apartment Communities, Inc. (NYSE:MAA) by 3.9% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 187,781 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after acquiring an additional 7,092 shares during the quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd.’s holdings in Mid-America Apartment Communities were worth $29,025,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Mid-America Apartment Communities during the 4th quarter worth about $826,562,000. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its position in Mid-America Apartment Communities by 516.4% during 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 worth $170,694,000 after buying an additional 899,960 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its stake 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 acquiring an additional 708,125 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in Mid-America Apartment Communities in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $95,671,000. Finally, Aew Capital Management L P lifted its position 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 acquiring an additional 528,608 shares during the period. 93.60% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Mid-America Apartment Communities Stock Performance

Shares of Mid-America Apartment Communities stock opened at $165.93 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 0.08 and a quick ratio of 0.08. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $159.61 and a 200 day simple moving average of $157.57. Mid-America Apartment Communities, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $123.73 and a fifty-two week high of $173.38. The firm has a market cap of $19.40 billion, a P/E 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 earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The real estate investment trust reported $2.23 EPS 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%. Sell-side analysts predict that Mid-America Apartment Communities, Inc. will post 8.84 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Mid-America Apartment Communities Dividend Announcement

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 given 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 payout ratio is presently 135.27%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on MAA shares. JMP Securities restated a “market outperform” rating and set a $160.00 price objective on shares of Mid-America Apartment Communities in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Royal Bank of Canada increased 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. KeyCorp raised shares of Mid-America Apartment Communities from a “sector weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $180.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. Mizuho cut their price target on shares of Mid-America Apartment Communities from $163.00 to $159.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Mid-America Apartment Communities from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $148.00 to $190.00 in a research note on Monday, March 10th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $168.90.

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.