Barclays PLC Acquires 90,146 Shares of Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance, Inc. (NYSE:ARI)

Barclays PLC raised its holdings in Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance, Inc. (NYSE:ARI - Free Report) by 27.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 419,608 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after buying an additional 90,146 shares during the period. Barclays PLC owned about 0.30% of Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance worth $3,633,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in ARI. Merit Financial Group LLC lifted its position in shares of Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance by 10.0% during 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 purchasing an additional 10,447 shares in the last quarter. Diversify Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance during the fourth quarter valued at about $129,000. SG Americas Securities LLC bought a new position in shares of Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance during the fourth quarter valued at about $93,000. Inspire Investing LLC lifted its position in shares of Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance by 3.0% during the fourth 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 in the last quarter. Finally, AM Investment Strategies LLC lifted its position in shares of Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance by 2.8% during the fourth quarter. AM Investment Strategies LLC now owns 111,498 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $966,000 after purchasing an additional 3,081 shares in the last quarter. 54.43% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance

In other news, Director Carmencita N.M. Whonder sold 11,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $9.96, for a total transaction of $109,560.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 9,624 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $95,855.04. This trade represents a 53.34 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Stuart Rothstein sold 52,074 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 17th. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at $3,855,420.72. This trade represents a 11.89 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.68% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on ARI shares. StockNews.com lowered shares of Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance from $8.00 to $9.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday. BTIG Research raised shares of Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $11.00 price target on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $10.00 price objective for the company in a report on Monday, April 7th. Finally, UBS Group reduced their price objective on Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance from $10.00 to $9.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $9.75.

Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance Price Performance

Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance stock opened at $9.40 on Tuesday. Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance, Inc. has a one year low of $7.70 and a one year high of $11.20. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $9.35 and a 200-day moving average price of $9.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 51.19 and a quick ratio of 51.19. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.31 billion, a P/E ratio of -9.89 and a beta of 1.41.

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

Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st were given a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 31st. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 10.64%. Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance's payout ratio is -3,333.33%.

Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance Profile

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.

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