Apple Hospitality REIT, Inc. (NYSE:APLE) Shares Bought by Principal Financial Group Inc.

Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its position in Apple Hospitality REIT, Inc. (NYSE:APLE) by 2.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,082,741 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after purchasing an additional 26,489 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Apple Hospitality REIT were worth $16,620,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Apple Hospitality REIT by 11.9% during the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 6,737,959 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $100,059,000 after buying an additional 718,844 shares during the period. Advisors Preferred LLC acquired a new stake in Apple Hospitality REIT during the 4th quarter worth about $4,651,000. Holocene Advisors LP purchased a new stake in Apple Hospitality REIT during the 3rd quarter valued at about $4,285,000. Barclays PLC grew its stake in Apple Hospitality REIT by 118.8% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 422,361 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $6,273,000 after purchasing an additional 229,293 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Systematic Financial Management LP increased its holdings 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 valued at $31,183,000 after purchasing an additional 207,256 shares during the period. 89.66% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on APLE shares. Bank of America raised Apple Hospitality REIT from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $16.00 to $17.00 in a report on Monday, January 27th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on shares of 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. BMO Capital Markets assumed coverage on shares of Apple Hospitality REIT in a research note on Monday, December 9th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $18.00 price objective on the stock. Oppenheimer restated an “outperform” rating and set a $18.00 target price (up from $17.00) on shares of Apple Hospitality REIT in a research report on Friday, November 8th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Apple Hospitality REIT from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, November 22nd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Apple Hospitality REIT presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $16.80.

Apple Hospitality REIT Price Performance

NYSE:APLE opened at $14.41 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a current ratio of 0.04 and a quick ratio of 0.04. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $15.23 and a 200-day moving average price of $15.13. Apple Hospitality REIT, Inc. has a 1-year low of $13.60 and a 1-year high of $16.99. The firm has a market cap of $3.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.95 and a beta of 1.13.

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. The company had revenue of $333.04 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $330.11 million. Apple Hospitality REIT had a net margin of 14.53% and a return on equity of 6.17%. Equities research analysts forecast that Apple Hospitality REIT, Inc. will post 1.6 EPS for the current year.

Apple Hospitality REIT Dividend Announcement

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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 28th. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.66%. 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.