Apollo Global Management Inc. (NYSE:APO) Receives Consensus Recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from Analysts

Apollo Global Management Inc. (NYSE:APO - Get Free Report) has been assigned a consensus recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the twenty ratings firms that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, seventeen have given a buy recommendation and one has given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year price target among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $161.00.

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on APO shares. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Apollo Global Management from $160.00 to $173.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, July 11th. Evercore ISI upped their price objective on Apollo Global Management from $150.00 to $155.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, July 10th. Cowen reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Apollo Global Management in a report on Monday, May 5th. Raymond James Financial assumed coverage on Apollo Global Management in a report on Thursday, April 10th. They issued a "strong-buy" rating and a $173.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, TD Cowen decreased their price objective on Apollo Global Management from $214.00 to $144.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 9th.

Apollo Global Management Price Performance

Shares of APO stock traded down $3.86 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $152.19. The company had a trading volume of 2,927,816 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,974,712. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a quick ratio of 1.36 and a current ratio of 1.36. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $138.96 and a 200-day moving average of $143.25. The company has a market capitalization of $86.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.65, a PEG ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 1.59. Apollo Global Management has a 12-month low of $95.11 and a 12-month high of $189.49.

Apollo Global Management (NYSE:APO - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, May 2nd. The financial services provider reported $1.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.84 by ($0.02). The company had revenue of $5.55 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $977.14 million. Apollo Global Management had a net margin of 14.59% and a return on equity of 13.45%. Apollo Global Management's revenue for the quarter was down 21.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.72 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Apollo Global Management will post 8 earnings per share for the current year.

Apollo Global Management Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 16th were paid a dividend of $0.51 per share. This represents a $2.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.34%. This is a boost from Apollo Global Management's previous quarterly dividend of $0.46. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 16th. Apollo Global Management's dividend payout ratio is 35.73%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Martin Kelly sold 4,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $132.57, for a total value of $530,280.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 373,164 shares in the company, valued at approximately $49,470,351.48. This trade represents a 1.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 8.20% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Apollo Global Management

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Apollo Global Management by 2.0% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 46,028,812 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $6,303,186,000 after acquiring an additional 893,428 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Apollo Global Management by 64.6% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 9,413,245 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,550,316,000 after buying an additional 3,695,979 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its holdings in Apollo Global Management by 36.9% in the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 6,452,004 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,065,615,000 after buying an additional 1,739,807 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp increased its holdings in Apollo Global Management by 50.0% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 4,382,740 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $723,853,000 after buying an additional 1,460,689 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its holdings in Apollo Global Management by 24.6% in the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 3,581,732 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $490,482,000 after buying an additional 706,181 shares during the last quarter. 77.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Apollo Global Management

Apollo Global Management, Inc is a private equity firm specializing in investments in credit, private equity, infrastructure, secondaries and real estate markets. The firm prefers to invest in private and public markets. The firm's private equity investments include traditional buyouts, recapitalization, distressed buyouts and debt investments in real estate, corporate partner buyouts, distressed asset, corporate carve-outs, middle market, growth, venture capital, turnaround, bridge, corporate restructuring, special situation, acquisition, and industry consolidation transactions.