Nuveen LLC Buys Shares of 3,163,508 Apple Hospitality REIT, Inc. $APLE

Key Points

• Nuveen LLC has invested approximately $40.84 million in Apple Hospitality REIT, acquiring over 3 million shares, which represents about 1.33% of the company.
• Wall Street analysts have downgraded Apple Hospitality REIT's stock rating from "outperform" to "market perform," lowering the target price from $14.00 to $12.00.
• Apple Hospitality REIT recently announced a dividend of $0.08 per share, despite having a payout ratio of 128.00%.

Nuveen LLC bought a new position in shares of Apple Hospitality REIT, Inc. (NYSE:APLE - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 3,163,508 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock, valued at approximately $40,841,000. Nuveen LLC owned about 1.33% of Apple Hospitality REIT at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its holdings in shares of Apple Hospitality REIT by 569.5% during the 1st quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 2,805 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 2,386 shares during the last quarter. Quarry LP boosted its holdings in shares of Apple Hospitality REIT by 128.1% during the 4th quarter. Quarry LP now owns 3,118 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $48,000 after purchasing an additional 1,751 shares during the last quarter. GF Fund Management CO. LTD. acquired a new position in shares of Apple Hospitality REIT during the 4th quarter worth approximately $64,000. Marshall & Sterling Wealth Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Apple Hospitality REIT during the 4th quarter worth approximately $92,000. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Apple Hospitality REIT by 16.9% during the 1st quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 9,934 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $128,000 after purchasing an additional 1,438 shares during the last quarter. 89.66% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, BMO Capital Markets cut Apple Hospitality REIT from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $14.00 to $12.00 in a report on Monday, June 9th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Apple Hospitality REIT currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $15.75.

Apple Hospitality REIT Trading Down 0.1%

Shares of APLE stock traded down $0.0150 during trading on Thursday, hitting $12.3150. 2,197,753 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,174,085. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.42 and a beta of 1.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a current ratio of 0.78 and a quick ratio of 0.78. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $12.05 and its 200-day moving average price is $12.57. Apple Hospitality REIT, Inc. has a 52-week low of $10.44 and a 52-week high of $16.50.

Apple Hospitality REIT (NYSE:APLE - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.47 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.47. The firm had revenue of $384.37 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $381.37 million. Apple Hospitality REIT had a net margin of 12.71% and a return on equity of 5.58%. As a group, research analysts forecast that Apple Hospitality REIT, Inc. will post 1.6 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Apple Hospitality REIT Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a aug 25 dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 29th will be given a dividend of $0.08 per share. This represents a dividend yield of 780.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 29th. Apple Hospitality REIT's payout ratio is presently 128.00%.

Insider Activity at Apple Hospitality REIT

In other news, Chairman Glade M. Knight purchased 5,000 shares of Apple Hospitality REIT stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 19th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $12.29 per share, with a total value of $61,450.00. Following the transaction, the chairman owned 705,344 shares in the company, valued at $8,668,677.76. This represents a 0.71% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 7.10% of the company's stock.

Apple Hospitality REIT 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.