State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D Sells 61,601 Shares of 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) by 23.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund 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’s holdings in Apple Hospitality REIT were worth $3,159,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in APLE. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 182,917 shares during the last quarter. Centiva Capital LP acquired a new position in Apple Hospitality REIT during the 3rd quarter worth $1,067,000. Barclays PLC boosted its position in Apple Hospitality REIT by 118.8% in the 3rd 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 last quarter. Foundry Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Apple Hospitality REIT by 29.6% in the 3rd 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 raised its position in shares of 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 during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 89.66% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

APLE has been the subject of a number of research reports. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on Apple Hospitality REIT from $17.00 to $16.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday. Oppenheimer reiterated 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 price objective for the company from $16.00 to $17.00 in a report on Monday, January 27th. StockNews.com raised shares of Apple Hospitality REIT from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, November 22nd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets initiated coverage on Apple Hospitality REIT in a research note on Monday, December 9th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $18.00 price target on the stock. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $16.80.

Apple Hospitality REIT Trading Down 0.2 %

APLE opened at $15.35 on Thursday. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $15.33 and its two-hundred day moving average is $15.10. The firm has a market cap of $3.68 billion, a PE ratio of 18.06 and a beta of 1.13. Apple Hospitality REIT, Inc. has a twelve month low of $13.60 and a twelve month high of $16.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a quick ratio of 0.04 and a current ratio of 0.04.

Apple Hospitality REIT Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Friday, February 28th will be paid a dividend of $0.08 per share. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.25%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 28th. Apple Hospitality REIT’s payout ratio is presently 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.