Vanderbilt University Decreases Position in Apple Hospitality REIT, Inc. (NYSE:APLE)

Vanderbilt University lowered its position in Apple Hospitality REIT, Inc. (NYSE:APLE) by 31.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 15,483 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 7,069 shares during the quarter. Vanderbilt University’s holdings in Apple Hospitality REIT were worth $238,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in Apple Hospitality REIT by 40.4% in the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,712 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $40,000 after buying an additional 780 shares during the last quarter. Covestor Ltd lifted its holdings in shares of Apple Hospitality REIT by 30.0% during the 3rd quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 7,932 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $118,000 after acquiring an additional 1,831 shares during the period. KBC Group NV boosted its position in shares of Apple Hospitality REIT by 37.8% in the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 9,257 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $142,000 after acquiring an additional 2,541 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. raised its stake in Apple Hospitality REIT by 21.3% during the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 11,716 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $170,000 after purchasing an additional 2,059 shares during the period. Finally, Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Apple Hospitality REIT by 28.6% in the 3rd quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 11,262 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $171,000 after purchasing an additional 2,506 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.66% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

APLE has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. StockNews.com raised Apple Hospitality REIT from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, November 22nd. Bank of America raised shares of Apple Hospitality REIT from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the company from $16.00 to $17.00 in a report on Monday, January 27th. Oppenheimer reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $18.00 price objective (up from $17.00) on shares of Apple Hospitality REIT in a report on Friday, November 8th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets assumed coverage on shares of Apple Hospitality REIT in a research note on Monday, December 9th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $18.00 target price on the stock. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $16.60.

Apple Hospitality REIT Stock Performance

APLE opened at $15.45 on Thursday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $15.48 and its 200 day simple moving average is $15.06. Apple Hospitality REIT, Inc. has a 52-week low of $13.60 and a 52-week high of $16.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a quick ratio of 0.04 and a current ratio of 0.04. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.71 billion, a PE ratio of 18.17 and a beta of 1.13.

Apple Hospitality REIT (NYSE:APLE) last announced its earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.23 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.45 by ($0.22). The firm had revenue of $378.84 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $377.56 million. Apple Hospitality REIT had a return on equity of 6.17% and a net margin of 14.53%. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.45 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Apple Hospitality REIT, Inc. will post 1.6 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Apple Hospitality REIT Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Investors of record on Friday, January 31st will be given a dividend of $0.08 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 31st. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.22%. Apple Hospitality REIT’s dividend payout ratio is currently 112.94%.

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.