Apple Hospitality REIT, Inc. (NYSE:APLE) Shares Bought by Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc.

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Apple Hospitality REIT, Inc. (NYSE:APLE) by 5.0% during the second quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 251,347 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after purchasing an additional 12,005 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc.’s holdings in Apple Hospitality REIT were worth $3,655,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Principal Securities Inc. bought a new position in Apple Hospitality REIT during the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. EdgeRock Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Apple Hospitality REIT in the fourth quarter valued at $27,000. YHB Investment Advisors Inc. bought a new position in Apple Hospitality REIT during the first quarter valued at about $37,000. GAMMA Investing LLC acquired a new position in Apple Hospitality REIT during the fourth quarter worth about $41,000. Finally, Fortis Group Advisors LLC raised its position in Apple Hospitality REIT by 100.0% in the fourth quarter. Fortis Group Advisors LLC now owns 2,986 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $50,000 after acquiring an additional 1,493 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 89.66% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Apple Hospitality REIT

In other Apple Hospitality REIT news, Chairman Glade M. Knight acquired 5,000 shares of Apple Hospitality REIT stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 8th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $14.04 per share, with a total value of $70,200.00. Following the purchase, the chairman now owns 636,990 shares in the company, valued at $8,943,339.60. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 6.80% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Apple Hospitality REIT Price Performance

NYSE APLE opened at $14.27 on Thursday. Apple Hospitality REIT, Inc. has a 1 year low of $13.60 and a 1 year high of $17.90. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $14.45 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $15.16. The company has a market cap of $3.46 billion, a PE ratio of 16.59 and a beta of 1.11. The company has a current ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48.

Apple Hospitality REIT (NYSE:APLE) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, August 5th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.44 by ($0.13). Apple Hospitality REIT had a net margin of 14.58% and a return on equity of 6.11%. The firm had revenue of $390.08 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $388.82 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.49 EPS. On average, analysts predict that Apple Hospitality REIT, Inc. will post 1.4 EPS for the current year.

Apple Hospitality REIT Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 30th will be given a $0.08 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 30th. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.73%. Apple Hospitality REIT’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 111.63%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently weighed in on APLE. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Apple Hospitality REIT from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 7th. Oppenheimer reduced their target price on shares of Apple Hospitality REIT from $19.00 to $17.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, August 12th. Finally, Wedbush assumed coverage on Apple Hospitality REIT in a report on Monday, June 3rd. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $15.00 price target on the stock. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $17.00.

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.