Apple Hospitality REIT, Inc. (NYSE:APLE) Shares Bought by UniSuper Management Pty Ltd

UniSuper Management Pty Ltd boosted its holdings in shares of Apple Hospitality REIT, Inc. (NYSE:APLE) by 85.7% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 112,743 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after buying an additional 52,043 shares during the period. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd’s holdings in Apple Hospitality REIT were worth $1,847,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Apple Hospitality REIT during the 4th quarter valued at about $36,260,000. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in Apple Hospitality REIT by 7.5% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 35,369,907 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $542,574,000 after buying an additional 2,476,241 shares in the last quarter. Foundry Partners LLC increased its position in Apple Hospitality REIT by 11.3% during the 1st quarter. Foundry Partners LLC now owns 347,717 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $5,696,000 after buying an additional 35,166 shares in the last quarter. Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC increased its position in Apple Hospitality REIT by 94.6% during the 4th quarter. Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC now owns 310,624 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $5,159,000 after buying an additional 150,965 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Entropy Technologies LP acquired a new position in Apple Hospitality REIT during the 1st quarter valued at about $338,000. 89.66% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Apple Hospitality REIT

In other news, Chairman Glade M. Knight bought 5,000 shares of Apple Hospitality REIT stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 21st. The stock was acquired at an average price of $14.78 per share, with a total value of $73,900.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chairman now directly owns 631,990 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,340,812.20. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 6.80% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently commented on APLE. StockNews.com upgraded Apple Hospitality REIT from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 7th. Wedbush began coverage on Apple Hospitality REIT in a research note on Monday, June 3rd. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $15.00 target price on the stock. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $17.40.

Apple Hospitality REIT Price Performance

APLE stock traded down $0.44 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $14.79. 2,519,444 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,071,085. The company has a market cap of $3.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.20 and a beta of 1.11. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $14.50 and its 200 day moving average is $15.46. 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 12-month low of $13.95 and a 12-month high of $17.90.

Apple Hospitality REIT (NYSE:APLE) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, May 6th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.34 by ($0.12). The business had revenue of $329.51 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations 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 prior year, the company posted $0.34 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Apple Hospitality REIT, Inc. will post 1.4 EPS for the current year.

Apple Hospitality REIT Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, July 31st will be issued a dividend of $0.08 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, July 31st. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.49%. Apple Hospitality REIT’s payout ratio is currently 111.63%.

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.