Louisiana State Employees Retirement System Invests $1.77 Million in Apple Hospitality REIT, Inc. (NYSE:APLE)

Louisiana State Employees Retirement System bought a new position in Apple Hospitality REIT, Inc. (NYSE:APLE) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm bought 106,500 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock, valued at approximately $1,769,000.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in APLE. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Apple Hospitality REIT by 7.5% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 35,369,907 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $542,574,000 after acquiring an additional 2,476,241 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Apple Hospitality REIT in the 4th quarter worth about $37,208,000. State Street Corp increased its stake in Apple Hospitality REIT by 14.7% in the 1st quarter. State Street Corp now owns 10,388,765 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $186,686,000 after buying an additional 1,331,707 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in Apple Hospitality REIT by 37.2% in the 1st quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,480,292 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $80,511,000 after buying an additional 1,215,575 shares during the period. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in Apple Hospitality REIT by 19.9% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 7,040,599 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $108,003,000 after buying an additional 1,170,865 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 89.66% of the company’s stock.

Apple Hospitality REIT Trading Down 0.3 %

NYSE APLE opened at $14.93 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a quick ratio of 0.36 and a current ratio of 0.36. The company has a market capitalization of $3.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.13 and a beta of 1.08. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $16.16 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $16.25. Apple Hospitality REIT, Inc. has a one year low of $14.22 and a one year high of $17.90.

Apple Hospitality REIT Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a monthly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 28th were given a dividend of $0.08 per share. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.43%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 27th. Apple Hospitality REIT’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 123.08%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently commented on APLE. Bank of America downgraded shares of Apple Hospitality REIT from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their price target for the stock from $19.00 to $18.00 in a research note on Monday, January 8th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Apple Hospitality REIT from $17.00 to $18.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, December 22nd. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Apple Hospitality REIT from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Monday, February 26th. One 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’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $18.40.

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.