First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. Increases Stock Holdings in Apple Hospitality REIT, Inc. (NYSE:APLE)

First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. increased its stake in shares of Apple Hospitality REIT, Inc. (NYSE:APLE) by 22.1% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 14,680 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,657 shares during the quarter. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P.’s holdings in Apple Hospitality REIT were worth $244,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. GAMMA Investing LLC acquired a new position in Apple Hospitality REIT in the fourth quarter valued at $41,000. Quantbot Technologies LP purchased a new position in Apple Hospitality REIT in the third quarter worth $72,000. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its holdings in Apple Hospitality REIT by 11.9% in the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 6,927 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $106,000 after acquiring an additional 734 shares during the period. Shelton Capital Management purchased a new position in shares of Apple Hospitality REIT in the 3rd quarter valued at about $159,000. Finally, Quadrature Capital Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Apple Hospitality REIT in the third quarter valued at about $163,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.66% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, StockNews.com raised shares of Apple Hospitality REIT from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $18.40.

Apple Hospitality REIT Stock Up 0.4 %

APLE stock opened at $14.87 on Wednesday. Apple Hospitality REIT, Inc. has a one year low of $14.22 and a one year high of $17.90. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $15.90 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $16.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a quick ratio of 0.36 and a current ratio of 0.36. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.06 and a beta of 1.10.

Apple Hospitality REIT Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 30th will be given a dividend of $0.08 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 29th. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.46%. Apple Hospitality REIT’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 123.08%.

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.