Apple Hospitality REIT, Inc. (NYSE:APLE) Holdings Trimmed by Balyasny Asset Management L.P.

Balyasny Asset Management L.P. decreased its position in shares of Apple Hospitality REIT, Inc. (NYSE:APLE - Free Report) by 59.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,230,946 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after selling 1,819,791 shares during the period. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. owned approximately 0.51% of Apple Hospitality REIT worth $18,895,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. increased its holdings in Apple Hospitality REIT by 8.9% in the 4th quarter. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. now owns 711,971 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $10,929,000 after buying an additional 58,453 shares during the period. AXA S.A. lifted its holdings in Apple Hospitality REIT by 3.0% in the fourth quarter. AXA S.A. now owns 141,332 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $2,169,000 after acquiring an additional 4,116 shares during the last quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV grew its position in Apple Hospitality REIT by 14.3% in the 4th quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 76,848 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $1,180,000 after acquiring an additional 9,601 shares in the last quarter. AdvisorShares Investments LLC grew its holdings in shares of Apple Hospitality REIT by 279.6% during the fourth quarter. AdvisorShares Investments LLC now owns 39,657 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $609,000 after purchasing an additional 29,210 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp raised its stake in shares of Apple Hospitality REIT by 6.9% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 3,259,501 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $50,033,000 after purchasing an additional 209,698 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.66% of the company's stock.

Apple Hospitality REIT Stock Up 1.4%

Shares of NYSE APLE traded up $0.17 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $12.39. 1,367,827 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,262,371. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a quick ratio of 0.04 and a current ratio of 0.04. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.58 and a beta of 1.07. Apple Hospitality REIT, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $10.44 and a fifty-two week high of $16.50. The business's fifty day moving average is $12.37 and its 200 day moving average is $14.34.

Apple Hospitality REIT (NYSE:APLE - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The real estate investment trust reported $0.32 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.31 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $327.70 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $332.86 million. Apple Hospitality REIT had a net margin of 14.53% and a return on equity of 6.17%. Equities research analysts predict that Apple Hospitality REIT, Inc. will post 1.6 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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 paid a $0.08 dividend. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 7.75%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 30th. Apple Hospitality REIT's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 121.52%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

APLE has been the subject of several analyst reports. Bank of America upgraded Apple Hospitality REIT from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their price target for the company from $16.00 to $17.00 in a report on Monday, January 27th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on Apple Hospitality REIT from $17.00 to $16.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $16.80.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Chairman Glade M. Knight purchased 10,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 6th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $11.43 per share, for a total transaction of $114,300.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chairman now directly owns 700,344 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $8,004,931.92. This trade represents a 1.45% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Insiders purchased 12,000 shares of company stock worth $137,120 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 7.10% of the company's stock.

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.