Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. Boosts Stake in Apple Hospitality REIT, Inc. (NYSE:APLE)

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. grew its stake in shares of Apple Hospitality REIT, Inc. (NYSE:APLE) by 8.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 250,566 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after buying an additional 19,309 shares during the quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. owned 0.11% of Apple Hospitality REIT worth $4,162,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Quantbot Technologies LP purchased a new stake in shares of Apple Hospitality REIT during the 3rd quarter valued at $72,000. Blue Trust Inc. raised its position in shares of Apple Hospitality REIT by 11.9% during the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 6,927 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $106,000 after buying an additional 734 shares in the last quarter. Goldstein Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Apple Hospitality REIT during the 3rd quarter valued at $157,000. Shelton Capital Management purchased a new stake in shares of Apple Hospitality REIT during the 3rd quarter valued at $159,000. Finally, Quadrature Capital Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Apple Hospitality REIT during the 3rd quarter valued at $163,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.66% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

APLE has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. StockNews.com cut shares of Apple Hospitality REIT from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Monday, February 26th. Bank of America cut shares of Apple Hospitality REIT from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $19.00 to $18.00 in a research report on Monday, January 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Apple Hospitality REIT currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $18.40.

Apple Hospitality REIT Price Performance

APLE stock opened at $15.46 on Wednesday. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $16.13 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $16.28. Apple Hospitality REIT, Inc. has a 12-month low of $14.22 and a 12-month high of $17.90. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.82 and a beta of 1.08. The company has a current ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 0.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45.

Apple Hospitality REIT Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 30th will be given a $0.08 dividend. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.21%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 29th. Apple Hospitality REIT’s payout ratio is 123.08%.

About Apple Hospitality REIT

Apple Hospitality REIT, Inc (NYSE: APLE) is a publicly traded real estate investment trust (REIT) that owns one of the largest and most diverse portfolios of upscale, rooms-focused hotels in the United States. Apple Hospitality's portfolio consists of 223 hotels with more than 29,400 guest rooms located in 87 markets throughout 37 states as well as one property leased to third parties.