Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp Lowers Position in Apple Hospitality REIT, Inc. (NYSE:APLE)

Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp lowered its stake in Apple Hospitality REIT, Inc. (NYSE:APLE) by 82.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,792 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 8,421 shares during the quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp’s holdings in Apple Hospitality REIT were worth $28,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in APLE. Fox Run Management L.L.C. purchased a new stake in Apple Hospitality REIT in the 4th quarter worth approximately $905,000. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS purchased a new stake in shares of Apple Hospitality REIT in the fourth quarter worth $1,033,000. American Century Companies Inc. raised its position in shares of Apple Hospitality REIT by 3.4% during the 4th quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 77,398 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $1,188,000 after purchasing an additional 2,529 shares during the period. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS lifted its stake in shares of Apple Hospitality REIT by 38.8% during the 4th quarter. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS now owns 121,358 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $1,863,000 after buying an additional 33,924 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Xponance Inc. boosted its holdings in Apple Hospitality REIT by 9.5% in the 4th quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 16,341 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $251,000 after buying an additional 1,413 shares during the period. 89.66% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Apple Hospitality REIT Price Performance

Shares of Apple Hospitality REIT stock opened at $12.92 on Thursday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $14.48 and a 200 day moving average of $15.04. Apple Hospitality REIT, Inc. has a 12 month low of $12.65 and a 12 month high of $16.50. The firm has a market cap of $3.10 billion, a PE ratio of 15.20 and a beta of 1.12. The company has a current ratio of 0.04, a quick ratio of 0.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03.

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

Apple Hospitality REIT Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be given a dividend of $0.08 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 7.43%. Apple Hospitality REIT’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 109.09%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have commented on APLE shares. Bank of America raised Apple Hospitality REIT from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the company from $16.00 to $17.00 in a report on Monday, January 27th. BMO Capital Markets began coverage on Apple Hospitality REIT in a research note on Monday, December 9th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $18.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target 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. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $16.80.

Apple Hospitality REIT Company 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.