Westwood Holdings Group Inc. Trims Stock Position in Apple Hospitality REIT, Inc. (NYSE:APLE)

Key Points

• Westwood Holdings Group Inc. reduced its stake in Apple Hospitality REIT by 9.9%, owning 350,000 shares valued at $4.5 million after selling 38,414 shares during the first quarter.
• The company declared a dividend of $0.08 per share, with a yield of 770.0%, payable on August 15th, with an ex-dividend date of July 31st.
• Analysts from BMO Capital Markets downgraded the stock's rating from "outperform" to "market perform" and reduced the target price from $14.00 to $12.00.

Westwood Holdings Group Inc. lowered its stake in Apple Hospitality REIT, Inc. (NYSE:APLE - Free Report) by 9.9% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 350,000 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after selling 38,414 shares during the period. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. owned approximately 0.15% of Apple Hospitality REIT worth $4,518,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the business. LSV Asset Management increased its holdings in Apple Hospitality REIT by 2.1% during the 1st quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 2,519,277 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $32,524,000 after purchasing an additional 52,734 shares during the period. US Bancorp DE increased its holdings in Apple Hospitality REIT by 202.2% during the 1st quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 13,761 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $178,000 after purchasing an additional 9,207 shares during the period. GSA Capital Partners LLP increased its holdings in Apple Hospitality REIT by 969.3% during the 1st quarter. GSA Capital Partners LLP now owns 165,140 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $2,132,000 after purchasing an additional 149,696 shares during the period. Cozad Asset Management Inc. boosted its position in Apple Hospitality REIT by 6.2% during the 1st quarter. Cozad Asset Management Inc. now owns 99,081 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $1,279,000 after acquiring an additional 5,779 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Inlet Private Wealth LLC boosted its position in Apple Hospitality REIT by 2.3% during the 1st quarter. Inlet Private Wealth LLC now owns 204,275 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $2,637,000 after acquiring an additional 4,600 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.66% of the company's stock.

Apple Hospitality REIT Stock Down 0.2%

Apple Hospitality REIT stock traded down $0.02 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $11.74. 2,945,944 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,187,857. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $11.94 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $12.76. The company has a current ratio of 0.78, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51. The company has a market cap of $2.79 billion, a PE ratio of 15.65 and a beta of 1.08. Apple Hospitality REIT, Inc. has a one year low of $10.44 and a one year high of $16.50.

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

Apple Hospitality REIT Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a jul 25 dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 31st will be given a $0.08 dividend. This represents a dividend yield of 770.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 31st. Apple Hospitality REIT's payout ratio is currently 121.52%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

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.