Amundi Buys 74,182 Shares of Apple Hospitality REIT, Inc. (NYSE:APLE)

Amundi grew its stake in shares of Apple Hospitality REIT, Inc. (NYSE:APLE) by 44.8% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 239,608 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after buying an additional 74,182 shares during the period. Amundi owned 0.10% of Apple Hospitality REIT worth $3,486,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of APLE. Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Apple Hospitality REIT by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 6,767,740 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $103,885,000 after purchasing an additional 29,781 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Apple Hospitality REIT by 1.1% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,761,364 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $85,571,000 after purchasing an additional 62,149 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its position in shares of Apple Hospitality REIT by 0.4% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 5,243,575 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $77,867,000 after purchasing an additional 18,858 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Apple Hospitality REIT by 3.0% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,590,568 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $70,465,000 after purchasing an additional 133,505 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Systematic Financial Management LP increased its position in shares of Apple Hospitality REIT by 11.0% in the third quarter. Systematic Financial Management LP now owns 2,099,877 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $31,183,000 after purchasing an additional 207,256 shares during the last quarter. 89.66% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have issued reports on APLE shares. StockNews.com raised Apple Hospitality REIT from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on Apple Hospitality REIT from $17.00 to $16.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Bank of America raised Apple Hospitality REIT from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $16.00 to $17.00 in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets started coverage on Apple Hospitality REIT in a research note on Monday, December 9th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $18.00 target price for the company. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $16.80.

Apple Hospitality REIT Stock Performance

NYSE:APLE opened at $13.55 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $3.25 billion, a PE ratio of 15.94 and a beta of 1.12. Apple Hospitality REIT, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $13.11 and a fifty-two week high of $16.83. 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 business has a 50 day moving average price of $14.90 and a 200-day moving average price of $15.13.

Apple Hospitality REIT (NYSE:APLE) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 24th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.32 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.31 by $0.01. Apple Hospitality REIT had a return on equity of 6.17% and a net margin of 14.53%. The firm had revenue of $333.04 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $330.11 million. Equities research analysts predict that Apple Hospitality REIT, Inc. will post 1.6 earnings per share for the current year.

Apple Hospitality REIT Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Friday, February 28th will be paid a $0.08 dividend. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 7.09%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 28th. Apple Hospitality REIT’s payout ratio is 109.09%.

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.