QRG Capital Management Inc. Purchases 29,446 Shares of Apple Hospitality REIT, Inc. (NYSE:APLE)

QRG Capital Management Inc. grew its position in Apple Hospitality REIT, Inc. (NYSE:APLE - Free Report) by 23.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 157,397 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after purchasing an additional 29,446 shares during the period. QRG Capital Management Inc. owned about 0.07% of Apple Hospitality REIT worth $2,416,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in APLE. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in Apple Hospitality REIT by 4.3% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,457,063 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $66,187,000 after buying an additional 182,917 shares during the period. Centiva Capital LP bought a new position in Apple Hospitality REIT during the third quarter valued at about $1,067,000. Barclays PLC grew its position in 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 valued at $6,273,000 after buying an additional 229,293 shares during the period. Foundry Partners LLC grew its position in Apple Hospitality REIT by 29.6% during the third quarter. Foundry Partners LLC now owns 474,672 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $7,049,000 after buying an additional 108,523 shares during the period. Finally, KBC Group NV grew its position in Apple Hospitality REIT by 37.8% during the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 9,257 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $142,000 after buying an additional 2,541 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.66% of the company's stock.

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Apple Hospitality REIT Stock Performance

NYSE:APLE traded down $0.20 on Thursday, reaching $14.36. 1,283,952 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,885,597. 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 firm has a market cap of $3.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.94 and a beta of 1.13. Apple Hospitality REIT, Inc. has a 52 week low of $13.60 and a 52 week high of $16.99. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $15.11 and a 200-day simple moving average of $15.14.

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 EPS 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 company had revenue of $333.04 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $330.11 million. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Apple Hospitality REIT, Inc. will post 1.6 earnings per share for the current year.

Apple Hospitality REIT Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 28th will be given a $0.08 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 28th. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.69%. Apple Hospitality REIT's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 109.09%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Apple Hospitality REIT from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. Oppenheimer restated an "outperform" rating and set a $18.00 price target (up previously from $17.00) on shares of Apple Hospitality REIT in a research report on Friday, November 8th. Bank of America upgraded shares of Apple Hospitality REIT from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their target price for the stock from $16.00 to $17.00 in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on shares of Apple Hospitality REIT from $17.00 to $16.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets started coverage on shares of Apple Hospitality REIT in a research report on Monday, December 9th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $18.00 target price for the company. 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 data from MarketBeat.com, Apple Hospitality REIT has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $16.80.

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.