Natixis Acquires 185,178 Shares of Apple Hospitality REIT, Inc. (NYSE:APLE)

Natixis grew its position in shares of Apple Hospitality REIT, Inc. (NYSE:APLE - Free Report) by 1,011.9% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 203,478 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after buying an additional 185,178 shares during the quarter. Natixis owned 0.08% of Apple Hospitality REIT worth $3,123,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Apple Hospitality REIT in the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. bought a new stake in shares of Apple Hospitality REIT in the 4th quarter worth approximately $51,000. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in shares of Apple Hospitality REIT by 80.9% in the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 4,905 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $75,000 after purchasing an additional 2,193 shares during the period. Quadrant Capital Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Apple Hospitality REIT by 20.1% in the 4th quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 6,740 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $104,000 after purchasing an additional 1,128 shares during the period. Finally, FIL Ltd raised its holdings in shares of Apple Hospitality REIT by 76.4% in the 4th quarter. FIL Ltd now owns 8,599 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $132,000 after purchasing an additional 3,725 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 89.66% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Bank of America upgraded shares of Apple Hospitality REIT from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $16.00 to $17.00 in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on shares of Apple Hospitality REIT from $17.00 to $16.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Apple Hospitality REIT currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $16.80.

Apple Hospitality REIT Price Performance

Shares of APLE traded down $0.02 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $11.90. 1,889,097 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,220,433. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $13.03 and a 200 day moving average price of $14.59. The company has a market cap of $2.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.00 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a current ratio of 0.04, a quick ratio of 0.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03. Apple Hospitality REIT, Inc. has a 1 year low of $10.44 and a 1 year high of $16.50.

Apple Hospitality REIT (NYSE:APLE - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 24th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.32 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.31 by $0.01. Apple Hospitality REIT had a net margin of 14.53% and a return on equity of 6.17%. The firm had revenue of $333.04 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $330.11 million. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Apple Hospitality REIT, Inc. will post 1.6 earnings per share for the current year.

Apple Hospitality REIT Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 30th will be given a $0.08 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 30th. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 8.07%. Apple Hospitality REIT's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 109.09%.

Apple Hospitality REIT Company 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.