FIL Ltd Buys 3,725 Shares of Apple Hospitality REIT, Inc. (NYSE:APLE)

FIL Ltd lifted its stake in Apple Hospitality REIT, Inc. (NYSE:APLE) by 76.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 8,599 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after buying an additional 3,725 shares during the quarter. FIL Ltd’s holdings in Apple Hospitality REIT were worth $132,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Apple Hospitality REIT in the fourth quarter worth approximately $21,099,000. ExodusPoint Capital Management LP boosted its stake in shares of Apple Hospitality REIT by 126.8% in the fourth quarter. ExodusPoint Capital Management LP now owns 899,842 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $13,813,000 after acquiring an additional 503,114 shares during the period. Advisors Preferred LLC purchased a new position in Apple Hospitality REIT in the 4th quarter worth approximately $4,651,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in Apple Hospitality REIT during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $3,844,000. Finally, Barclays PLC raised its position in shares of Apple Hospitality REIT by 118.8% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 422,361 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $6,273,000 after buying an additional 229,293 shares during the last quarter. 89.66% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have commented on the stock. Bank of America upgraded shares of Apple Hospitality REIT from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $16.00 to $17.00 in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on Apple Hospitality REIT from $17.00 to $16.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $16.80.

Apple Hospitality REIT Stock Up 0.4 %

Shares of APLE opened at $11.52 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.04, a current ratio of 0.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03. The business has a fifty day moving average of $13.68 and a 200 day moving average of $14.79. The company has a market cap of $2.75 billion, a PE ratio of 13.55 and a beta of 1.00. Apple Hospitality REIT, Inc. has a 52-week low of $10.44 and a 52-week high of $16.50.

Apple Hospitality REIT (NYSE:APLE) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 24th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.32 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.31 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $333.04 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $330.11 million. Apple Hospitality REIT had a net margin of 14.53% and a return on equity of 6.17%. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Apple Hospitality REIT, Inc. will post 1.6 EPS for the current year.

Apple Hospitality REIT Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st will be issued a dividend of $0.08 per share. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 8.33%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. Apple Hospitality REIT’s payout ratio is currently 109.09%.

Apple Hospitality REIT Profile

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.