Apple Hospitality REIT, Inc. (NYSE:APLE) Shares Sold by Nisa Investment Advisors LLC

Nisa Investment Advisors LLC lowered its position in Apple Hospitality REIT, Inc. (NYSE:APLE) by 8.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 73,988 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 6,453 shares during the quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in Apple Hospitality REIT were worth $1,146,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH lifted its holdings in shares of Apple Hospitality REIT by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH now owns 920,660 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $14,132,000 after purchasing an additional 3,430 shares during the last quarter. Burney Co. increased its holdings in Apple Hospitality REIT by 8.9% in the fourth quarter. Burney Co. now owns 39,137 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $601,000 after buying an additional 3,208 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in shares of Apple Hospitality REIT by 80.9% during the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 4,905 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $75,000 after purchasing an additional 2,193 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted 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 buying an additional 18,858 shares during the last quarter. Finally, B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. boosted its position in Apple Hospitality REIT by 12.4% during the third quarter. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 22,032 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $329,000 after purchasing an additional 2,422 shares during the period. 89.66% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently weighed in on APLE. StockNews.com raised Apple Hospitality REIT from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. Bank of America raised Apple Hospitality REIT from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $16.00 to $17.00 in a report on Monday. Oppenheimer restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $18.00 price target (up from $17.00) on shares of Apple Hospitality REIT in a research report on Friday, November 8th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets started coverage on Apple Hospitality REIT in a report on Monday, December 9th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $18.00 target price on the stock. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Apple Hospitality REIT currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $16.60.

Apple Hospitality REIT Stock Performance

APLE opened at $15.60 on Tuesday. Apple Hospitality REIT, Inc. has a 52-week low of $13.60 and a 52-week high of $16.99. 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’s 50-day simple moving average is $15.55 and its 200 day simple moving average is $15.04. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.74 billion, a PE ratio of 18.35 and a beta of 1.13.

Apple Hospitality REIT (NYSE:APLE) last posted its earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.45 by ($0.22). Apple Hospitality REIT had a return on equity of 6.17% and a net margin of 14.53%. The company had revenue of $378.84 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $377.56 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.45 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Apple Hospitality REIT, Inc. will post 1.6 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Apple Hospitality REIT Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 31st will be issued a $0.08 dividend. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.16%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 31st. Apple Hospitality REIT’s dividend payout ratio is presently 112.94%.

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.