Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund Acquires New Holdings in Apple Hospitality REIT, Inc. (NYSE:APLE)

Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund bought a new stake in Apple Hospitality REIT, Inc. (NYSE:APLE) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 125,314 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock, valued at approximately $2,081,000. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund owned 0.05% of Apple Hospitality REIT at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of APLE. Quantbot Technologies LP acquired a new stake in shares of Apple Hospitality REIT during the third quarter worth $72,000. Blue Trust Inc. raised its position in Apple Hospitality REIT by 11.9% in the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 6,927 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $106,000 after buying an additional 734 shares during the last quarter. Shelton Capital Management bought a new stake in Apple Hospitality REIT in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $159,000. Quadrature Capital Ltd acquired a new position in Apple Hospitality REIT during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $163,000. Finally, First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. grew its stake in shares of Apple Hospitality REIT by 20.0% during the 3rd quarter. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. now owns 12,023 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $184,000 after acquiring an additional 2,000 shares in the last quarter. 89.66% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

Apple Hospitality REIT Trading Down 1.8 %

Shares of APLE stock opened at $15.00 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 $3.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.22 and a beta of 1.08. Apple Hospitality REIT, Inc. has a 52-week low of $14.22 and a 52-week high of $17.90. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $16.11 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $16.27.

Apple Hospitality REIT Dividend Announcement

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