Legal & General Group Plc Raises Stake in Apple Hospitality REIT, Inc. $APLE

Key Points

• Legal & General Group Plc increased its stake in Apple Hospitality REIT by 9.9% in the fourth quarter, buying 146,431 additional shares and bringing its holding to 1,623,818 shares worth about $19.24 million.
• Several analysts raised price targets on APLE, including Cantor Fitzgerald and Barclays lifting targets to $16, while the stock’s overall consensus rating remains Hold with an average target price of $13.94.
• Apple Hospitality REIT posted better-than-expected quarterly results and declared a monthly dividend of $0.08 per share, implying a 6.5% annualized yield, though the payout ratio is high at 131.51%.

Legal & General Group Plc raised its position in Apple Hospitality REIT, Inc. (NYSE:APLE - Free Report) by 9.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,623,818 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after acquiring an additional 146,431 shares during the quarter. Legal & General Group Plc owned approximately 0.69% of Apple Hospitality REIT worth $19,242,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Hantz Financial Services Inc. raised its holdings in Apple Hospitality REIT by 73.1% during the fourth quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 10,163 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $120,000 after purchasing an additional 4,292 shares in the last quarter. Carroll Advisory Group LLC acquired a new stake in Apple Hospitality REIT during the fourth quarter worth approximately $178,000. Mach 1 Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in Apple Hospitality REIT during the fourth quarter worth approximately $132,000. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. raised its holdings in Apple Hospitality REIT by 23.2% during the fourth quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 35,071 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $416,000 after purchasing an additional 6,612 shares in the last quarter. Finally, ProShare Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Apple Hospitality REIT by 3.3% during the fourth quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 43,518 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $516,000 after purchasing an additional 1,370 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.66% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have weighed in on APLE shares. Cantor Fitzgerald raised their price objective on shares of Apple Hospitality REIT from $14.00 to $16.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 13th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Apple Hospitality REIT from a "hold (c)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a report on Thursday. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Apple Hospitality REIT from $13.00 to $16.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Apple Hospitality REIT from $12.00 to $15.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. began coverage on shares of Apple Hospitality REIT in a research report on Monday. They set a "neutral" rating and a $15.00 target price on the stock. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $13.94.

Insider Activity at Apple Hospitality REIT

In related news, Chairman Glade M. Knight bought 5,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, May 11th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $13.96 per share, for a total transaction of $69,800.00. Following the transaction, the chairman owned 747,191 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $10,430,786.36. This trade represents a 0.67% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Insiders own 6.90% of the company's stock.

Apple Hospitality REIT Stock Performance

NYSE:APLE opened at $14.68 on Tuesday. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $13.11 and its 200 day moving average price is $12.42. Apple Hospitality REIT, Inc. has a 1-year low of $10.85 and a 1-year high of $15.07. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 0.80 and a quick ratio of 0.80. The firm has a market cap of $3.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.10 and a beta of 0.88.

Apple Hospitality REIT (NYSE:APLE - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, May 4th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.12 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.11 by $0.01. Apple Hospitality REIT had a net margin of 12.08% and a return on equity of 5.43%. The firm had revenue of $337.74 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $327.81 million. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Apple Hospitality REIT, Inc. will post 1.55 EPS for the current year.

Apple Hospitality REIT Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 29th will be given a dividend of $0.08 per share. This represents a c) annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.5%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 29th. Apple Hospitality REIT's payout ratio is presently 131.51%.

Apple Hospitality REIT Company Profile

Apple Hospitality REIT NYSE: APLE is a publicly traded real estate investment trust that focuses on acquiring, owning and operating high-quality, upscale, select-service hotels. The company's portfolio primarily consists of properties operated under premium franchise agreements with leading lodging brands such as Marriott, Hilton and Hyatt. Apple Hospitality REIT is self-managed and internally advised, overseeing property management, revenue optimization and asset-level operations through its in-house team of hospitality professionals.

The company's holdings encompass over 200 hotels featuring more than 30,000 guest rooms across a diverse array of markets in the United States.

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