State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D Sells 61,601 Shares of Apple Hospitality REIT, Inc. (NYSE:APLE)

State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D lessened its holdings in shares of Apple Hospitality REIT, Inc. (NYSE:APLE) by 23.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 205,794 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 61,601 shares during the period. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D owned approximately 0.09% of Apple Hospitality REIT worth $3,159,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in shares of Apple Hospitality REIT by 80.9% in the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 4,905 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $75,000 after acquiring an additional 2,193 shares during the period. Covestor Ltd raised its stake in Apple Hospitality REIT by 30.0% during the 3rd quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 7,932 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $118,000 after purchasing an additional 1,831 shares during the last quarter. KBC Group NV boosted its holdings in Apple Hospitality REIT by 37.8% in the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 9,257 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $142,000 after purchasing an additional 2,541 shares during the period. Entropy Technologies LP acquired a new stake in Apple Hospitality REIT in the 4th quarter worth $159,000. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Apple Hospitality REIT by 21.3% during the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 11,716 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $170,000 after purchasing an additional 2,059 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.66% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Bank of America raised Apple Hospitality REIT from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $16.00 to $17.00 in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Oppenheimer restated an “outperform” rating and set a $18.00 price objective (up from $17.00) on shares of Apple Hospitality REIT in a research report on Friday, November 8th. BMO Capital Markets initiated coverage on Apple Hospitality REIT in a research note on Monday, December 9th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $18.00 target price for the company. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on shares of Apple Hospitality REIT from $17.00 to $16.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Apple Hospitality REIT from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, November 22nd. 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.com, Apple Hospitality REIT presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $16.80.

Apple Hospitality REIT Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:APLE opened at $15.35 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a current ratio of 0.04 and a quick ratio of 0.04. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $15.33 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $15.10. Apple Hospitality REIT, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $13.60 and a fifty-two week high of $16.99. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.06 and a beta of 1.13.

Apple Hospitality REIT Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 28th will be given a $0.08 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 28th. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.25%. Apple Hospitality REIT’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 112.94%.

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.