Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance (NYSE:ARI) CEO Sells $561,346.94 in Stock

Key Points

• Stuart Rothstein, CEO of Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance, sold 52,073 shares at an average price of $10.78, reducing his ownership by 15.60% to 281,781 shares valued at approximately $3.04 million.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.25 per share to be paid on October 15th, representing a 9.5% yield.
• Institutional ownership of Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance stands at 54.43%, with several hedge funds increasing their positions in the stock recently.

Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance (NYSE:ARI - Get Free Report) CEO Stuart Rothstein sold 52,073 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $10.78, for a total transaction of $561,346.94. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 281,781 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,037,599.18. This represents a 15.60% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink.

Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance Price Performance

NYSE:ARI traded down $0.11 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $10.56. 1,770,737 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 753,126. Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance has a 12 month low of $7.70 and a 12 month high of $11.11. The company has a fifty day moving average of $10.23 and a 200 day moving average of $9.77. The company has a quick ratio of 98.25, a current ratio of 98.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66. The stock has a market cap of $1.47 billion, a PE ratio of -75.43, a PEG ratio of 0.30 and a beta of 1.57.

Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 30th will be issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 30th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 9.5%. Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance's dividend payout ratio is currently -714.29%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have commented on ARI shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on shares of Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance from $10.50 to $10.75 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, July 10th. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance from $10.00 to $10.50 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 15th. Finally, Zacks Research downgraded shares of Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $10.31.

Institutional Trading of Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Private Advisor Group LLC raised its holdings in Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance by 4.2% during the 1st quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 26,453 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $253,000 after buying an additional 1,078 shares during the period. CWM LLC raised its holdings in Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance by 39.2% during the 1st quarter. CWM LLC now owns 3,858 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $37,000 after buying an additional 1,087 shares during the period. AlphaCore Capital LLC raised its holdings in Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance by 2.8% during the 4th quarter. AlphaCore Capital LLC now owns 41,119 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $366,000 after buying an additional 1,118 shares during the period. PFG Investments LLC raised its holdings in Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance by 2.5% during the 1st quarter. PFG Investments LLC now owns 50,764 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $486,000 after buying an additional 1,235 shares during the period. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc raised its holdings in Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance by 57.9% during the 1st quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 3,425 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 1,256 shares during the period. 54.43% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance

Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance, Inc operates as a real estate investment trust (REIT) that originates, acquires, invests in, and manages commercial first mortgage loans, subordinate financings, and other commercial real estate-related debt investments in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Europe.