Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. Sells 11,224 Shares of Apple Hospitality REIT, Inc. (NYSE:APLE)

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. decreased its stake in Apple Hospitality REIT, Inc. (NYSE:APLE) by 4.5% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 239,342 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 11,224 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc.’s holdings in Apple Hospitality REIT were worth $3,920,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in APLE. Legal & General Group Plc raised its position in Apple Hospitality REIT by 24.7% in the third quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 1,928,229 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $29,579,000 after acquiring an additional 381,860 shares during the period. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio raised its position in shares of Apple Hospitality REIT by 5.6% in the third quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 421,897 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $6,472,000 after purchasing an additional 22,292 shares during the period. Public Sector Pension Investment Board bought a new stake in shares of Apple Hospitality REIT in the third quarter valued at approximately $4,034,000. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky bought a new stake in shares of Apple Hospitality REIT in the third quarter valued at approximately $881,000. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Apple Hospitality REIT by 7.5% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 35,369,907 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $542,574,000 after purchasing an additional 2,476,241 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 89.66% of the company’s stock.

Apple Hospitality REIT Price Performance

APLE stock opened at $14.16 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $3.43 billion, a PE ratio of 16.47 and a beta of 1.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 0.79 and a quick ratio of 0.79. Apple Hospitality REIT, Inc. has a one year low of $13.95 and a one year high of $17.90. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $14.48 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $15.59.

Apple Hospitality REIT (NYSE:APLE) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, May 6th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.22 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.34 by ($0.12). The business had revenue of $329.51 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $324.68 million. Apple Hospitality REIT had a return on equity of 6.11% and a net margin of 14.58%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.34 earnings per share. On average, analysts predict that Apple Hospitality REIT, Inc. will post 1.4 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Apple Hospitality REIT Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 15th. Investors of record on Friday, June 28th will be issued a dividend of $0.08 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 28th. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.78%. Apple Hospitality REIT’s dividend payout ratio is currently 111.63%.

Insider Activity at Apple Hospitality REIT

In other news, Chairman Glade M. Knight purchased 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 21st. The stock was bought at an average cost of $14.78 per share, for a total transaction of $73,900.00. Following the acquisition, the chairman now directly owns 631,990 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,340,812.20. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 6.80% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

APLE has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Wedbush initiated coverage on shares of Apple Hospitality REIT in a research note on Monday, June 3rd. They set a “neutral” rating and a $15.00 price objective for the company. StockNews.com raised shares of Apple Hospitality REIT from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 7th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $17.40.

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.