Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd Increases Stock Position in Apple Hospitality REIT, Inc. (NYSE:APLE)

Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd boosted its stake in shares of Apple Hospitality REIT, Inc. (NYSE:APLE) by 14.5% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 37,103 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after acquiring an additional 4,694 shares during the quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd’s holdings in Apple Hospitality REIT were worth $616,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in Apple Hospitality REIT by 7.5% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 35,369,907 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $542,574,000 after buying an additional 2,476,241 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Apple Hospitality REIT by 19.9% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 7,040,599 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $108,003,000 after purchasing an additional 1,170,865 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Apple Hospitality REIT by 0.8% in the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 5,325,652 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $81,696,000 after purchasing an additional 43,920 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Apple Hospitality REIT by 1.1% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,134,029 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $63,416,000 after purchasing an additional 45,582 shares during the period. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Apple Hospitality REIT by 17.5% in the third quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 3,375,459 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $51,746,000 after purchasing an additional 502,472 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.66% of the company’s stock.

Apple Hospitality REIT Stock Down 1.8 %

Shares of NYSE:APLE opened at $15.00 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $16.11 and its 200 day moving average price is $16.27. The stock has a market cap of $3.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.22 and a beta of 1.08. Apple Hospitality REIT, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $14.22 and a fifty-two week high of $17.90. The company has a quick ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 0.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45.

Apple Hospitality REIT Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

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.