Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance $ARI Position Boosted by Public Sector Pension Investment Board

Public Sector Pension Investment Board increased its position in Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance (NYSE:ARI) by 17.1% in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 509,429 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after purchasing an additional 74,316 shares during the period. Public Sector Pension Investment Board’s holdings in Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance were worth $5,161,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of ARI. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. lifted its holdings in Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance by 5.2% during the 2nd quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 1,951,609 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $18,892,000 after buying an additional 96,493 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. raised its position in shares of Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance by 50.4% during the 2nd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,291,072 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $12,498,000 after acquiring an additional 432,377 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its stake in Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance by 21.9% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 774,154 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $7,842,000 after purchasing an additional 139,336 shares during the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE lifted its stake in Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance by 45.1% during the second quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 556,447 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $5,386,000 after purchasing an additional 173,036 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Edgestream Partners L.P. acquired a new position in Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance in the second quarter worth $5,323,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 54.43% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have weighed in on ARI shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance from $10.50 to $11.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, November 3rd. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on shares of Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance from $10.75 to $11.50 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 12th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, January 3rd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $11.00.

Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance Stock Up 0.1%

Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance stock opened at $10.56 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 96.78 and a current ratio of 96.78. Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance has a one year low of $7.70 and a one year high of $11.20. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $10.23 and a 200-day simple moving average of $10.20. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.20 and a beta of 1.54.

Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance (NYSE:ARI) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 10th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.26 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.26. Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance had a net margin of 46.66% and a return on equity of 7.94%. The firm had revenue of $73.25 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $46.97 million. As a group, equities analysts expect that Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance will post 0.63 earnings per share for the current year.

Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 15th. Investors of record on Wednesday, December 31st were issued a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 9.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, December 31st. Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance’s dividend payout ratio is 125.00%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Stuart Rothstein sold 52,072 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $10.16, for a total value of $529,051.52. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 229,709 shares in the company, valued at $2,333,843.44. This trade represents a 18.48% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.68% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance Profile

Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance, Inc (NYSE: ARI) is a real estate finance company structured as a real estate investment trust (REIT). The company focuses on originating, acquiring and managing a diversified portfolio of commercial real estate debt and preferred equity investments. As an externally managed vehicle, ARI leverages the expertise and resources of an affiliate of Apollo Global Management, a leading global alternative investment manager.

ARI’s investment strategy is centered on providing first mortgage loans, mezzanine debt financing, bridge loans and preferred equity across a broad range of property types, including office, retail, industrial and multifamily assets.