Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund Sells 7,491 Shares of Apple Hospitality REIT, Inc. (NYSE:APLE)

Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund reduced its stake in shares of Apple Hospitality REIT, Inc. (NYSE:APLE) by 6.0% in the first quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 117,823 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 7,491 shares during the period. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund’s holdings in Apple Hospitality REIT were worth $1,930,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Apple Hospitality REIT during the fourth quarter valued at $36,260,000. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Apple Hospitality REIT by 7.5% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 35,369,907 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $542,574,000 after purchasing an additional 2,476,241 shares in the last quarter. Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Apple Hospitality REIT by 94.6% in the fourth quarter. Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC now owns 310,624 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $5,159,000 after buying an additional 150,965 shares in the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. boosted its stake in Apple Hospitality REIT by 8.3% during the fourth quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. now owns 250,566 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $4,162,000 after buying an additional 19,309 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hsbc Holdings PLC grew its holdings in Apple Hospitality REIT by 14.8% during the 4th quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 121,416 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $2,017,000 after buying an additional 15,608 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 89.66% of the company’s stock.

Apple Hospitality REIT Trading Up 1.9 %

Shares of NYSE APLE traded up $0.27 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $14.55. 2,235,584 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,849,823. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $14.47 and its 200 day moving average price is $15.55. Apple Hospitality REIT, Inc. has a 12 month low of $13.95 and a 12 month high of $17.90. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.92 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 posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, May 6th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.22 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.34 by ($0.12). Apple Hospitality REIT had a net margin of 14.58% and a return on equity of 6.11%. The firm had revenue of $329.51 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $324.68 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.34 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Apple Hospitality REIT, Inc. will post 1.4 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Apple Hospitality REIT Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 15th. Investors of record on Friday, June 28th will be given a $0.08 dividend. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.60%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 28th. Apple Hospitality REIT’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 111.63%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

APLE has been the topic of several recent research reports. Wedbush assumed coverage on Apple Hospitality REIT in a report on Monday, June 3rd. They set a “neutral” rating and a $15.00 price objective on the stock. StockNews.com raised shares of Apple Hospitality REIT from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 7th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $17.40.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Apple Hospitality REIT news, Chairman Glade M. Knight bought 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 21st. The shares were purchased at an average price of $14.78 per share, with a total value of $73,900.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chairman now owns 631,990 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,340,812.20. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 6.80% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.