Norges Bank Makes New $21.10 Million Investment in Apple Hospitality REIT, Inc. (NYSE:APLE)

Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Apple Hospitality REIT, Inc. (NYSE:APLE - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 1,374,516 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock, valued at approximately $21,099,000. Norges Bank owned 0.57% of Apple Hospitality REIT as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in APLE. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in Apple Hospitality REIT by 80.9% during the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 4,905 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $75,000 after acquiring an additional 2,193 shares during the period. KBC Group NV grew its holdings in shares of Apple Hospitality REIT by 37.8% during the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 9,257 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $142,000 after purchasing an additional 2,541 shares in the last quarter. Entropy Technologies LP bought a new stake in shares of Apple Hospitality REIT during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $159,000. Proficio Capital Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Apple Hospitality REIT in the fourth quarter valued at $167,000. Finally, TD Private Client Wealth LLC lifted its position in Apple Hospitality REIT by 14.6% in the third quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 11,727 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $174,000 after purchasing an additional 1,490 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.66% of the company's stock.

Apple Hospitality REIT Price Performance

Shares of Apple Hospitality REIT stock traded up $0.18 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $11.48. 2,632,786 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,189,734. Apple Hospitality REIT, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $10.44 and a fifty-two week high of $16.50. The company has a market cap of $2.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.50 and a beta of 1.00. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $13.76 and a 200 day simple moving average of $14.82. The company has a current ratio of 0.04, a quick ratio of 0.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03.

Apple Hospitality REIT (NYSE:APLE - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 24th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.32 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.31 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $333.04 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $330.11 million. Apple Hospitality REIT had a net margin of 14.53% and a return on equity of 6.17%. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Apple Hospitality REIT, Inc. will post 1.6 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Apple Hospitality REIT Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be given a $0.08 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 8.37%. Apple Hospitality REIT's payout ratio is 109.09%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on APLE. Wells Fargo & Company dropped 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. Bank of America raised shares of Apple Hospitality REIT from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and upped their target price for the company from $16.00 to $17.00 in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $16.80.

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.