PNC Financial Services Group Inc. Increases Stock Holdings in Apple Hospitality REIT, Inc. (NYSE:APLE)

PNC Financial Services Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Apple Hospitality REIT, Inc. (NYSE:APLE) by 7.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 24,600 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,711 shares during the quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc.’s holdings in Apple Hospitality REIT were worth $378,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Advisors Preferred LLC purchased a new position in shares of Apple Hospitality REIT during the 4th quarter valued at about $4,651,000. Holocene Advisors LP bought a new stake in Apple Hospitality REIT during the third quarter valued at about $4,285,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of Apple Hospitality REIT in the fourth quarter worth about $3,844,000. Barclays PLC grew its position in shares of Apple Hospitality REIT by 118.8% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 422,361 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $6,273,000 after purchasing an additional 229,293 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Systematic Financial Management LP raised its stake in Apple Hospitality REIT by 11.0% during the 3rd 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. Institutional investors own 89.66% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently commented on APLE. StockNews.com upgraded Apple Hospitality REIT from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. Bank of America upgraded Apple Hospitality REIT from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the company from $16.00 to $17.00 in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of Apple Hospitality REIT from $17.00 to $16.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets assumed coverage on shares of Apple Hospitality REIT in a research report on Monday, December 9th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $18.00 price objective for the company. Three investment 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, Apple Hospitality REIT currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $16.80.

Apple Hospitality REIT Price Performance

NYSE:APLE opened at $13.52 on Friday. Apple Hospitality REIT, Inc. has a one year low of $13.11 and a one year high of $16.83. The stock has a market cap of $3.24 billion, a PE ratio of 15.90 and a beta of 1.12. 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 stock has a 50 day moving average price of $14.82 and a 200 day moving average price of $15.10.

Apple Hospitality REIT (NYSE:APLE) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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 net margin of 14.53% and a return on equity of 6.17%. The business had revenue of $333.04 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $330.11 million. Equities research analysts expect that Apple Hospitality REIT, Inc. will post 1.6 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Apple Hospitality REIT Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a monthly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Friday, February 28th were issued a $0.08 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 28th. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 7.10%. Apple Hospitality REIT’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.