Legal & General Group Plc Sells 140,044 Shares of Apple Hospitality REIT, Inc. (NYSE:APLE)

Legal & General Group Plc lessened its stake in shares of Apple Hospitality REIT, Inc. (NYSE:APLE - Free Report) by 7.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,622,012 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after selling 140,044 shares during the quarter. Legal & General Group Plc owned 0.68% of Apple Hospitality REIT worth $24,898,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of APLE. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Apple Hospitality REIT in the 4th quarter valued at $21,099,000. ExodusPoint Capital Management LP lifted its holdings in Apple Hospitality REIT by 126.8% in the fourth quarter. ExodusPoint Capital Management LP now owns 899,842 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $13,813,000 after buying an additional 503,114 shares during the period. Advisors Preferred LLC bought a new position in Apple Hospitality REIT in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $4,651,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in Apple Hospitality REIT during the 4th quarter worth $3,844,000. Finally, Barclays PLC raised its position in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 229,293 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.66% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have weighed in on the company. Bank of America upgraded 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 dropped their target price on Apple Hospitality REIT from $17.00 to $16.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Apple Hospitality REIT presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $16.80.

Apple Hospitality REIT Price Performance

Shares of APLE stock traded up $0.35 on Thursday, hitting $11.87. 2,230,657 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,565,117. The stock has a market cap of $2.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.97 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a current ratio of 0.04 and a quick ratio of 0.04. Apple Hospitality REIT, Inc. has a 12 month low of $10.44 and a 12 month high of $16.50. The company has a 50 day moving average of $13.51 and a 200 day moving average of $14.75.

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

Apple Hospitality REIT Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a monthly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st were issued a $0.08 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 31st. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 8.08%. Apple Hospitality REIT's payout ratio is 109.09%.

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.