Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance, Inc. (NYSE:ARI) Stock Position Raised by BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S

BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S grew its holdings in shares of Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance, Inc. (NYSE:ARI - Free Report) by 21.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 272,585 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after acquiring an additional 48,092 shares during the period. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S owned about 0.20% of Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance worth $2,361,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of ARI. Inspire Investing LLC grew its stake in Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance by 3.0% in the fourth quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 46,143 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $400,000 after purchasing an additional 1,364 shares in the last quarter. LPL Financial LLC increased its holdings in shares of Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 278,588 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $2,413,000 after acquiring an additional 2,164 shares during the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance by 9.4% in the 4th quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 25,746 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $223,000 after acquiring an additional 2,204 shares during the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance by 327.1% in the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 3,045 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 2,332 shares during the last quarter. Finally, AM Investment Strategies LLC increased its holdings in shares of 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 valued at $966,000 after acquiring an additional 3,081 shares during the last quarter. 54.43% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Stuart Rothstein sold 52,074 shares of Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance stock in a transaction on Monday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $9.99, for a total transaction of $520,219.26. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 385,928 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,855,420.72. This trade represents a 11.89 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Carmencita N.M. Whonder sold 11,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $9.96, for a total value of $109,560.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 9,624 shares in the company, valued at $95,855.04. This represents a 53.34 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.68% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ARI has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. StockNews.com downgraded Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday. UBS Group lowered their price target 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. BTIG Research upgraded Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $11.00 price target for the company in a report on Wednesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance from $9.50 to $8.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded 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 research note on Monday, April 7th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $9.50.

Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE ARI traded up $0.11 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $9.20. 2,018,790 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,121,250. Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance, Inc. has a twelve month low of $7.70 and a twelve month high of $11.20. 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 cap of $1.28 billion, a P/E ratio of -9.69 and a beta of 1.41. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $9.36 and its 200-day moving average price is $9.16.

Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance (NYSE:ARI - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 10th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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%. Equities research analysts anticipate that Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance, Inc. will post 0.63 EPS for the current year.

Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st were paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 31st. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 10.87%. 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.