Principal Financial Group Inc. Boosts Stock Position in Apple Hospitality REIT, Inc. (NYSE:APLE)

Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in Apple Hospitality REIT, Inc. (NYSE:APLE) by 2.7% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,111,519 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after buying an additional 28,778 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned 0.47% of Apple Hospitality REIT worth $14,350,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in APLE. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Apple Hospitality REIT during the fourth quarter worth approximately $31,000. Versant Capital Management Inc increased its position in shares of Apple Hospitality REIT by 569.5% during the first quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 2,805 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 2,386 shares in the last quarter. Quarry LP increased its position in shares of Apple Hospitality REIT by 128.1% during the fourth quarter. Quarry LP now owns 3,118 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $48,000 after purchasing an additional 1,751 shares in the last quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. purchased a new stake in shares of Apple Hospitality REIT during the fourth quarter worth approximately $51,000. Finally, GF Fund Management CO. LTD. purchased a new stake in shares of Apple Hospitality REIT during the fourth quarter worth approximately $64,000. 89.66% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Chairman Glade M. Knight acquired 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 6th. The shares were bought at an average price of $11.43 per share, with a total value of $114,300.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chairman owned 700,344 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,004,931.92. This represents a 1.45% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders acquired a total of 12,000 shares of company stock worth $137,120 over the last quarter. Insiders own 7.10% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, BMO Capital Markets cut Apple Hospitality REIT from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $14.00 to $12.00 in a research report on Monday, June 9th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $15.75.

Apple Hospitality REIT Stock Performance

NYSE APLE opened at $12.51 on Friday. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $11.79 and its two-hundred day moving average is $13.15. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.84 and a beta of 1.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a current ratio of 0.84. Apple Hospitality REIT, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $10.44 and a fifty-two week high of $16.50.

Apple Hospitality REIT (NYSE:APLE) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The real estate investment trust reported $0.32 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.31 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $327.70 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $332.86 million. Apple Hospitality REIT had a return on equity of 5.84% and a net margin of 13.38%. On average, research analysts anticipate that Apple Hospitality REIT, Inc. will post 1.6 earnings per share for the current year.

Apple Hospitality REIT Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 30th will be paid a dividend of $0.08 per share. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 7.67%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 30th. Apple Hospitality REIT’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 121.52%.

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.