Bank of America Corp DE Cuts Position in Apple Hospitality REIT, Inc. (NYSE:APLE)

Bank of America Corp DE lessened its stake in Apple Hospitality REIT, Inc. (NYSE:APLE - Free Report) by 17.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 735,360 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after selling 159,780 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE owned approximately 0.31% of Apple Hospitality REIT worth $11,288,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Apple Hospitality REIT during the fourth quarter valued at about $21,099,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Apple Hospitality REIT by 3.0% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,590,568 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $70,465,000 after acquiring an additional 133,505 shares during the last quarter. Martingale Asset Management L P boosted its stake in shares of Apple Hospitality REIT by 133.4% in the 4th quarter. Martingale Asset Management L P now owns 95,642 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $1,468,000 after purchasing an additional 54,661 shares in the last quarter. Barclays PLC grew its holdings in shares of Apple Hospitality REIT by 118.8% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 422,361 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $6,273,000 after purchasing an additional 229,293 shares during the last quarter. Finally, KBC Group NV lifted its stake in Apple Hospitality REIT by 37.8% in the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 9,257 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $142,000 after purchasing an additional 2,541 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.66% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on Apple Hospitality REIT from $17.00 to $16.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $16.80.

Apple Hospitality REIT Trading Down 0.3%

NYSE:APLE traded down $0.03 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $11.76. 539,305 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,605,749. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.83 and a beta of 1.07. 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 company has a fifty day moving average of $11.91 and a 200 day moving average of $14.07. Apple Hospitality REIT, Inc. has a 12 month low of $10.44 and a 12 month high of $16.50.

Apple Hospitality REIT (NYSE:APLE - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results 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 during 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%. On average, research analysts predict that Apple Hospitality REIT, Inc. will post 1.6 EPS for the current year.

Apple Hospitality REIT Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a may 25 dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 30th will be given a $0.08 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 30th. This represents a dividend yield of 8.3%. Apple Hospitality REIT's dividend payout ratio is currently 121.52%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Chairman Glade M. Knight bought 10,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 6th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $11.43 per share, with a total value of $114,300.00. Following the transaction, the chairman now owns 700,344 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $8,004,931.92. The trade was a 1.45% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Over the last three months, insiders have acquired 12,000 shares of company stock valued at $137,120. Company insiders own 7.10% of the company's stock.

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.