Pacer Advisors Inc. Invests $11.50 Million in Apple Hospitality REIT, Inc. $APLE

Pacer Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in Apple Hospitality REIT, Inc. (NYSE:APLE) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 970,332 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock, valued at approximately $11,498,000.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in APLE. UBS Group AG grew its stake in shares of Apple Hospitality REIT by 60.8% in the fourth quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 4,721,481 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $55,950,000 after acquiring an additional 1,786,018 shares during the period. Millennium Management LLC increased its position in Apple Hospitality REIT by 763.8% during the third quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 648,487 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $7,788,000 after acquiring an additional 573,410 shares during the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE increased its position in Apple Hospitality REIT by 42.6% during the second quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 1,904,629 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $22,227,000 after acquiring an additional 569,109 shares during the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership increased its position in Apple Hospitality REIT by 31.2% during the third quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 1,772,663 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $21,290,000 after acquiring an additional 421,876 shares during the last quarter. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC increased its position in Apple Hospitality REIT by 300.9% during the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 545,365 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $6,364,000 after acquiring an additional 409,319 shares during the last quarter. 89.66% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently commented on the company. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH assumed coverage on Apple Hospitality REIT in a research report on Thursday, March 26th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $13.00 price objective for the company. Barclays reduced their price objective on Apple Hospitality REIT from $14.00 to $13.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 7th. Cantor Fitzgerald upped their price objective on Apple Hospitality REIT from $14.00 to $16.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Apple Hospitality REIT in a research report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on Apple Hospitality REIT from $13.00 to $12.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, March 24th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $12.93.

Apple Hospitality REIT Stock Performance

NYSE:APLE opened at $13.81 on Thursday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $12.48 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $12.15. Apple Hospitality REIT, Inc. has a 52-week low of $10.85 and a 52-week high of $14.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a current ratio of 0.80. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.26 billion, a PE ratio of 18.91, a P/E/G ratio of 8.26 and a beta of 0.88.

Apple Hospitality REIT (NYSE:APLE) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, May 4th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.12 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.11 by $0.01. Apple Hospitality REIT had a return on equity of 5.43% and a net margin of 12.08%.The business had revenue of $337.74 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $327.81 million. Analysts forecast that Apple Hospitality REIT, Inc. will post 1.55 EPS for the current year.

Apple Hospitality REIT Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 30th will be issued a dividend of $0.08 per share. This represents a c) annualized dividend and a yield of 7.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 30th. Apple Hospitality REIT’s payout ratio is currently 131.51%.

Insider Transactions at Apple Hospitality REIT

In related news, Chairman Glade M. Knight purchased 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, May 11th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $13.96 per share, with a total value of $69,800.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chairman owned 747,191 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,430,786.36. This trade represents a 0.67% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 6.90% of the company’s stock.

About Apple Hospitality REIT

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.