Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund Makes New $2.08 Million Investment in Apple Hospitality REIT, Inc. (NYSE:APLE)

Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund acquired a new stake in Apple Hospitality REIT, Inc. (NYSE:APLE) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund acquired 125,314 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock, valued at approximately $2,081,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Quantbot Technologies LP bought a new stake in Apple Hospitality REIT in the third quarter valued at about $72,000. Blue Trust Inc. increased its position in shares of Apple Hospitality REIT by 11.9% during the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 6,927 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $106,000 after acquiring an additional 734 shares in the last quarter. Shelton Capital Management acquired a new stake in Apple Hospitality REIT in the 3rd quarter valued at $159,000. Quadrature Capital Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Apple Hospitality REIT during the 3rd quarter worth about $163,000. Finally, First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. boosted its holdings in shares of Apple Hospitality REIT by 20.0% during the 3rd quarter. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. now owns 12,023 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $184,000 after buying an additional 2,000 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.66% of the company’s stock.

Apple Hospitality REIT Trading Down 1.8 %

NYSE:APLE opened at $15.00 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $3.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.22 and a beta of 1.08. Apple Hospitality REIT, Inc. has a 1 year low of $14.22 and a 1 year high of $17.90. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $16.11 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $16.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 0.36 and a quick ratio of 0.36.

Apple Hospitality REIT Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 30th will be paid a dividend of $0.08 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 29th. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.40%. Apple Hospitality REIT’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 123.08%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently commented on APLE. StockNews.com cut shares of Apple Hospitality REIT from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Monday, February 26th. Bank of America cut shares of Apple Hospitality REIT from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their price objective for the stock from $19.00 to $18.00 in a research report on Monday, January 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Apple Hospitality REIT currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $18.40.

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.