Apple Hospitality REIT, Inc. (NYSE:APLE) Shares Sold by Raymond James & Associates

Raymond James & Associates lowered its stake in Apple Hospitality REIT, Inc. (NYSE:APLE) by 4.3% in the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 143,916 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 6,407 shares during the quarter. Raymond James & Associates’ holdings in Apple Hospitality REIT were worth $2,093,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Principal Securities Inc. acquired a new stake in Apple Hospitality REIT in the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. EdgeRock Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Apple Hospitality REIT in the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. YHB Investment Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in Apple Hospitality REIT in the first quarter worth about $37,000. Fortis Group Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Apple Hospitality REIT by 100.0% in the fourth quarter. Fortis Group Advisors LLC now owns 2,986 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $50,000 after purchasing an additional 1,493 shares during the period. Finally, Covestor Ltd lifted its holdings in Apple Hospitality REIT by 115.6% in the 1st quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 4,314 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $71,000 after acquiring an additional 2,313 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.66% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Wedbush assumed coverage on shares of Apple Hospitality REIT in a report on Monday, June 3rd. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $15.00 price target for the company. Oppenheimer cut their price target on shares of Apple Hospitality REIT from $19.00 to $17.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, August 12th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Apple Hospitality REIT from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 7th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $17.00.

Insider Activity

In other Apple Hospitality REIT news, Chairman Glade M. Knight bought 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 8th. The shares were bought at an average price of $14.04 per share, for a total transaction of $70,200.00. Following the acquisition, the chairman now directly owns 636,990 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,943,339.60. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 6.80% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Apple Hospitality REIT Price Performance

APLE stock opened at $14.44 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.75, a quick ratio of 0.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46. Apple Hospitality REIT, Inc. has a one year low of $13.60 and a one year high of $17.90. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.50 billion, a PE ratio of 16.79 and a beta of 1.11. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $14.43 and a two-hundred day moving average of $15.06.

Apple Hospitality REIT (NYSE:APLE) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, August 5th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.31 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.44 by ($0.13). Apple Hospitality REIT had a net margin of 14.91% and a return on equity of 6.30%. The firm had revenue of $390.08 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $388.82 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.49 earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast that Apple Hospitality REIT, Inc. will post 1.61 earnings per share for the current year.

Apple Hospitality REIT Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 30th will be issued a $0.08 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 30th. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.65%. Apple Hospitality REIT’s dividend payout ratio is 111.63%.

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.