Teacher Retirement System of Texas Boosts Stake in Apple Hospitality REIT, Inc. (NYSE:APLE)

Teacher Retirement System of Texas grew its stake in shares of Apple Hospitality REIT, Inc. (NYSE:APLE - Free Report) by 202.5% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 33,331 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after acquiring an additional 22,313 shares during the period. Teacher Retirement System of Texas' holdings in Apple Hospitality REIT were worth $430,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of APLE. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd bought a new position in shares of Apple Hospitality REIT during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its position 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 valued at $36,000 after acquiring an additional 2,386 shares during the period. Quarry LP boosted its holdings in Apple Hospitality REIT by 128.1% in the 4th quarter. Quarry LP now owns 3,118 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $48,000 after buying an additional 1,751 shares during the period. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. bought a new position in Apple Hospitality REIT in the 4th quarter worth approximately $51,000. Finally, GF Fund Management CO. LTD. bought a new position in Apple Hospitality REIT in the 4th quarter worth approximately $64,000. 89.66% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Apple Hospitality REIT Stock Performance

APLE traded up $0.07 on Friday, hitting $12.34. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,877,338 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,407,265. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $11.86 and its 200-day simple moving average is $13.08. The firm has a market cap of $2.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.62 and a beta of 1.04. Apple Hospitality REIT, Inc. has a 12 month low of $10.44 and a 12 month high of $16.50. The company has a quick ratio of 0.84, a current ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51.

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

Apple Hospitality REIT Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a jul 25 dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 31st will be issued a $0.08 dividend. Apple Hospitality REIT's payout ratio is 121.52%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Chairman Glade M. Knight purchased 10,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 6th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $11.43 per share, with a total value of $114,300.00. Following the acquisition, the chairman directly owned 700,344 shares in the company, 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 document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Over the last ninety days, insiders have acquired 12,000 shares of company stock valued at $137,120. 7.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, BMO Capital Markets downgraded shares of Apple Hospitality REIT from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating and cut their price objective for the stock from $14.00 to $12.00 in a report on Monday, June 9th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $15.75.

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.