Barclays PLC Increases Stock Holdings in Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance, Inc. (NYSE:ARI)

Barclays PLC increased its stake in shares of Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance, Inc. (NYSE:ARI - Free Report) by 27.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 419,608 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after acquiring an additional 90,146 shares during the quarter. Barclays PLC owned approximately 0.30% of Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance worth $3,633,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Merit Financial Group LLC increased its position in shares of Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance by 10.0% in the fourth quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC now owns 114,639 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $993,000 after acquiring an additional 10,447 shares during the period. Diversify Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance during the 4th quarter valued at about $129,000. SG Americas Securities LLC bought a new position in Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $93,000. Inspire Investing LLC raised its position in Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance by 3.0% during the 4th quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 46,143 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $400,000 after purchasing an additional 1,364 shares during the last quarter. Finally, AM Investment Strategies LLC lifted its holdings in Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance by 2.8% in the 4th quarter. AM Investment Strategies LLC now owns 111,498 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $966,000 after buying an additional 3,081 shares during the period. 54.43% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance Stock Up 0.7 %

Shares of Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance stock traded up $0.07 during trading on Friday, hitting $9.49. The company's stock had a trading volume of 788,318 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,114,204. Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance, Inc. has a 52 week low of $7.70 and a 52 week high of $11.20. The company has a market capitalization of $1.32 billion, a PE ratio of -9.99 and a beta of 1.41. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $9.31 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $9.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a quick ratio of 51.19 and a current ratio of 51.19.

Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance (NYSE:ARI - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Monday, February 10th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.30 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.23 by $0.07. Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance had a negative net margin of 39.40% and a positive return on equity of 9.37%. Equities research analysts predict that Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance, Inc. will post 0.63 earnings per share for the current year.

Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st were issued a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 10.54%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 31st. Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -3,333.33%.

Insider Transactions at Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance

In related news, CEO Stuart Rothstein sold 52,074 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $9.99, for a total value of $520,219.26. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 385,928 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,855,420.72. This represents a 11.89 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Mark C. Biderman sold 10,000 shares of Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $9.48, for a total value of $94,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 60,787 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $576,260.76. The trade was a 14.13 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 73,074 shares of company stock valued at $724,579. Insiders own 0.68% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on ARI shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance from $8.00 to $9.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, April 28th. BTIG Research upgraded shares of Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $11.00 price objective for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. UBS Group cut their target price on shares of Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance from $10.00 to $9.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on shares of Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance from $10.00 to $10.50 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, JMP Securities reaffirmed a "market perform" rating on shares of Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance in a research report on Tuesday. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $9.88.

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.