Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. Invests $51,000 in Apple Hospitality REIT, Inc. (NYSE:APLE)

Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. bought a new position in Apple Hospitality REIT, Inc. (NYSE:APLE) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 3,320 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock, valued at approximately $51,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Apple Hospitality REIT by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 6,767,740 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $103,885,000 after acquiring an additional 29,781 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Apple Hospitality REIT by 1.1% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,761,364 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $85,571,000 after buying an additional 62,149 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its holdings in shares of Apple Hospitality REIT by 0.4% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 5,243,575 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $77,867,000 after buying an additional 18,858 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Apple Hospitality REIT by 3.0% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,590,568 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $70,465,000 after acquiring an additional 133,505 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Systematic Financial Management LP grew its stake in Apple Hospitality REIT by 11.0% during the third quarter. Systematic Financial Management LP now owns 2,099,877 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $31,183,000 after acquiring an additional 207,256 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.66% of the company’s stock.

Apple Hospitality REIT Stock Performance

Shares of APLE stock opened at $12.92 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $3.10 billion, a PE ratio of 15.20 and a beta of 1.12. Apple Hospitality REIT, Inc. has a 1 year low of $12.65 and a 1 year high of $16.50. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $14.48 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $15.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a current ratio of 0.04 and a quick ratio of 0.04.

Apple Hospitality REIT (NYSE:APLE) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 24th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.31 by $0.01. Apple Hospitality REIT had a return on equity of 6.17% and a net margin of 14.53%. The company had revenue of $333.04 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $330.11 million. Research analysts predict that Apple Hospitality REIT, Inc. will post 1.6 earnings per share for the current year.

Apple Hospitality REIT Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st will be issued a dividend of $0.08 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 7.43%. Apple Hospitality REIT’s payout ratio is 109.09%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have commented on APLE. BMO Capital Markets initiated coverage on shares of Apple Hospitality REIT in a report on Monday, December 9th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $18.00 price objective for the company. Bank of America raised Apple Hospitality REIT from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the company from $16.00 to $17.00 in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on Apple Hospitality REIT from $17.00 to $16.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $16.80.

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.