Apple Hospitality REIT, Inc. (NYSE:APLE) Shares Bought by Principal Financial Group Inc.

Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in Apple Hospitality REIT, Inc. (NYSE:APLE - Free Report) by 2.7% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,111,519 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after acquiring an additional 28,778 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned approximately 0.47% of Apple Hospitality REIT worth $14,350,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in APLE. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Apple Hospitality REIT in the fourth quarter valued at $31,000. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its position in shares of Apple Hospitality REIT by 569.5% in the first quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 2,805 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 2,386 shares during the period. Quarry LP grew its position in shares of Apple Hospitality REIT by 128.1% in the fourth quarter. Quarry LP now owns 3,118 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $48,000 after purchasing an additional 1,751 shares during the period. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. purchased a new stake in shares of Apple Hospitality REIT in the fourth quarter valued at $51,000. Finally, GF Fund Management CO. LTD. purchased a new stake in shares of Apple Hospitality REIT in the fourth quarter valued at $64,000. 89.66% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, BMO Capital Markets downgraded Apple Hospitality REIT from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $14.00 to $12.00 in a research report on Monday, June 9th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Apple Hospitality REIT currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $15.75.

Insider Activity at Apple Hospitality REIT

In related news, Chairman Glade M. Knight acquired 10,000 shares of Apple Hospitality REIT stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 6th. The shares were bought at an average price of $11.43 per share, for a total transaction of $114,300.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chairman directly owned 700,344 shares in the company, valued at $8,004,931.92. This trade represents a 1.45% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders bought a total of 12,000 shares of company stock worth $137,120 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 7.10% of the company's stock.

Apple Hospitality REIT Trading Down 0.5%

Apple Hospitality REIT stock traded down $0.07 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $12.32. The stock had a trading volume of 2,712,836 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,408,151. Apple Hospitality REIT, Inc. has a twelve month low of $10.44 and a twelve month high of $16.50. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.93 billion, a PE ratio of 15.59 and a beta of 1.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a current ratio of 0.84. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $11.83 and its 200 day simple moving average is $13.11.

Apple Hospitality REIT (NYSE:APLE - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The real estate investment trust reported $0.32 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.31 by $0.01. Apple Hospitality REIT had a return on equity of 5.84% and a net margin of 13.38%. The firm had revenue of $327.70 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $332.86 million. Analysts expect that Apple Hospitality REIT, Inc. will post 1.6 EPS for the current year.

Apple Hospitality REIT Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a monthly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 30th were paid a dividend of $0.08 per share. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 7.80%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 30th. Apple Hospitality REIT's dividend payout ratio is presently 121.52%.

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.