State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D Cuts Stock Position in Apple Hospitality REIT, Inc. (NYSE:APLE)

State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D lowered its stake in shares of Apple Hospitality REIT, Inc. (NYSE:APLE - Free Report) by 23.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 205,794 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after selling 61,601 shares during the quarter. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D owned 0.09% of Apple Hospitality REIT worth $3,159,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position 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 buying an additional 2,193 shares during the period. Covestor Ltd lifted its position in Apple Hospitality REIT by 30.0% during the 3rd quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 7,932 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $118,000 after acquiring an additional 1,831 shares during the period. KBC Group NV boosted its stake 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 worth $142,000 after acquiring an additional 2,541 shares in the last quarter. Entropy Technologies LP bought a new stake in Apple Hospitality REIT during the fourth quarter worth about $159,000. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. grew its holdings in Apple Hospitality REIT by 21.3% in the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 11,716 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $170,000 after purchasing an additional 2,059 shares during the period. 89.66% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on APLE shares. Wells Fargo & Company dropped 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 note on Tuesday. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Apple Hospitality REIT from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. BMO Capital Markets initiated 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 target for the company. 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 note on Monday, January 27th. Finally, Oppenheimer restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $18.00 price target (up previously from $17.00) on shares of Apple Hospitality REIT in a research note on Friday, November 8th. Three 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, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $16.80.

Apple Hospitality REIT Trading Down 3.2 %

NYSE APLE traded down $0.49 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $14.79. 2,737,175 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,666,409. Apple Hospitality REIT, Inc. has a 52 week low of $13.60 and a 52 week high of $16.99. The company has a quick ratio of 0.04, a current ratio of 0.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $15.29 and a 200 day moving average price of $15.11. The stock has a market cap of $3.55 billion, a PE ratio of 17.39 and a beta of 1.13.

Apple Hospitality REIT Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 28th will be paid a $0.08 dividend. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.49%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 28th. Apple Hospitality REIT's payout ratio is currently 112.94%.

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.