Securian Asset Management Inc. Reduces Stock Position in Mid-America Apartment Communities, Inc. (NYSE:MAA)

Securian Asset Management Inc. reduced its position in shares of Mid-America Apartment Communities, Inc. (NYSE:MAA) by 3.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 6,123 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 200 shares during the period. Securian Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Mid-America Apartment Communities were worth $946,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Mid-America Apartment Communities during the third quarter worth about $2,890,000. Metis Global Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Mid-America Apartment Communities by 9.5% during the fourth quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC now owns 17,273 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $2,670,000 after purchasing an additional 1,499 shares during the period. Swedbank AB boosted its holdings in shares of Mid-America Apartment Communities by 2.6% during the third quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 203,587 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $32,350,000 after purchasing an additional 5,178 shares during the period. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its holdings in Mid-America Apartment Communities by 2.4% in the third quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 180,689 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $28,711,000 after buying an additional 4,301 shares during the period. Finally, Eagle Asset Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Mid-America Apartment Communities in the third quarter worth about $4,304,000. 93.60% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Mid-America Apartment Communities Price Performance

Shares of MAA opened at $163.32 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $19.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.72 and a beta of 0.90. The company has a quick ratio of 0.08, a current ratio of 0.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $156.86 and a 200 day moving average of $157.47. Mid-America Apartment Communities, Inc. has a twelve month low of $123.73 and a twelve month high of $173.38.

Mid-America Apartment Communities (NYSE:MAA) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The real estate investment trust reported $2.23 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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, equities research analysts anticipate that Mid-America Apartment Communities, Inc. will post 8.84 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MAA has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective 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. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Mid-America Apartment Communities from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $148.00 to $190.00 in a report on Monday, March 10th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Mid-America Apartment Communities from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Mizuho lowered their price objective on shares of Mid-America Apartment Communities from $163.00 to $159.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Scotiabank upgraded shares of Mid-America Apartment Communities from a “sector perform” rating to a “sector outperform” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $173.00 to $182.00 in a report on Friday, February 14th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $168.43.

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.