Meritage Portfolio Management Decreases Stake in Apple Hospitality REIT, Inc. (NYSE:APLE)

Meritage Portfolio Management cut its holdings in Apple Hospitality REIT, Inc. (NYSE:APLE) by 0.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 263,474 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 2,158 shares during the quarter. Meritage Portfolio Management owned 0.12% of Apple Hospitality REIT worth $4,376,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Bailard Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Apple Hospitality REIT in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $373,000. Yousif Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Apple Hospitality REIT by 2.1% in the fourth quarter. Yousif Capital Management LLC now owns 108,256 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $1,798,000 after buying an additional 2,211 shares in the last quarter. Wolverine Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Apple Hospitality REIT in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,994,000. GAMMA Investing LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Apple Hospitality REIT in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $41,000. Finally, Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund purchased a new stake in shares of Apple Hospitality REIT in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $2,081,000. 89.66% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have commented on the company. Bank of America downgraded Apple Hospitality REIT from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $19.00 to $18.00 in a research report on Monday, January 8th. StockNews.com downgraded Apple Hospitality REIT from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Monday, February 26th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $18.40.

Apple Hospitality REIT Price Performance

Shares of NYSE APLE traded down $0.27 during trading on Thursday, reaching $15.00. The company had a trading volume of 1,803,112 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,884,041. Apple Hospitality REIT, Inc. has a twelve month low of $14.22 and a twelve month high of $17.90. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.64 billion, a PE ratio of 19.27 and a beta of 1.08. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $16.11 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $16.27. The company has a current ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 0.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45.

Apple Hospitality REIT Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 30th will be issued a $0.08 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 29th. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.40%. Apple Hospitality REIT’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 123.08%.

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.