Apple Hospitality REIT, Inc. $APLE Position Cut by Vanguard Group Inc.

Vanguard Group Inc. reduced its holdings in Apple Hospitality REIT, Inc. (NYSE:APLE) by 1.9% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 33,550,328 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 639,812 shares during the quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. owned 14.16% of Apple Hospitality REIT worth $402,939,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Fifth Third Bancorp lifted its holdings in Apple Hospitality REIT by 31.5% in the third quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 9,220 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $111,000 after purchasing an additional 2,211 shares during the period. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. increased its stake in Apple Hospitality REIT by 5.8% during the 3rd quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 28,459 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $342,000 after buying an additional 1,556 shares during the period. Aberdeen Group plc raised its position in shares of Apple Hospitality REIT by 13.8% during the 3rd quarter. Aberdeen Group plc now owns 75,867 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $911,000 after buying an additional 9,207 shares in the last quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Apple Hospitality REIT by 36.5% during the 3rd quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC now owns 49,892 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $599,000 after buying an additional 13,331 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Public Sector Pension Investment Board boosted its holdings in shares of Apple Hospitality REIT by 10.8% in the third quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 972,074 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $11,675,000 after acquiring an additional 94,630 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 89.66% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Apple Hospitality REIT

In other news, Chairman Glade M. Knight bought 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 11th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $11.91 per share, with a total value of $59,550.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman directly owned 710,344 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,460,197.04. The trade was a 0.71% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 7.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Apple Hospitality REIT Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:APLE opened at $12.59 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $2.97 billion, a PE ratio of 17.01 and a beta of 0.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a quick ratio of 0.06 and a current ratio of 0.40. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $12.16 and a 200-day moving average of $12.07. Apple Hospitality REIT, Inc. has a one year low of $10.44 and a one year high of $14.96.

Apple Hospitality REIT (NYSE:APLE) last issued its earnings results on Monday, February 23rd. The real estate investment trust reported $0.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.29 by ($0.16). Apple Hospitality REIT had a return on equity of 5.50% and a net margin of 12.42%.The company had revenue of $326.44 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $322.60 million. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Apple Hospitality REIT, Inc. will post 1.6 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Apple Hospitality REIT Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 27th will be issued a $0.08 dividend. This represents a c) annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 7.6%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 27th. Apple Hospitality REIT’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 129.73%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently commented on APLE. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Apple Hospitality REIT in a report on Friday, December 26th. Bank of America lowered Apple Hospitality REIT from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $11.50 price objective for the company. in a report on Tuesday, November 4th. Finally, Barclays began coverage on Apple Hospitality REIT in a research note on Tuesday, January 6th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $14.00 target price for the company. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $12.92.

Apple Hospitality REIT Profile

Apple Hospitality REIT (NYSE: APLE) is a publicly traded real estate investment trust that focuses on acquiring, owning and operating high-quality, upscale, select-service hotels. The company’s portfolio primarily consists of properties operated under premium franchise agreements with leading lodging brands such as Marriott, Hilton and Hyatt. Apple Hospitality REIT is self-managed and internally advised, overseeing property management, revenue optimization and asset-level operations through its in-house team of hospitality professionals.

The company’s holdings encompass over 200 hotels featuring more than 30,000 guest rooms across a diverse array of markets in the United States.