Envestnet Asset Management Inc. Trims Stake in Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance, Inc. (NYSE:ARI)

Envestnet Asset Management Inc. cut its position in Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance, Inc. (NYSE:ARI - Free Report) by 95.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 18,883 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after selling 382,330 shares during the quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc.'s holdings in Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance were worth $164,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ARI. Barclays PLC increased its holdings in shares of Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance by 65.9% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 329,462 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $3,028,000 after purchasing an additional 130,892 shares during the period. Merit Financial Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance by 10.0% during the 4th quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC now owns 114,639 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $993,000 after purchasing an additional 10,447 shares in the last quarter. Diversify Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance in the fourth quarter valued at about $129,000. SG Americas Securities LLC bought a new stake in Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance during the fourth quarter worth about $93,000. Finally, Inspire Investing LLC grew its stake in 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 worth $400,000 after buying an additional 1,364 shares in the last quarter. 54.43% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently commented on ARI shares. JMP Securities reissued a "market perform" rating on shares of Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance in a report on Tuesday, April 29th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price 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, April 29th. BTIG Research raised shares of Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $11.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. UBS Group decreased their target price on Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance from $10.00 to $9.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance from $8.00 to $9.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, April 28th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $9.88.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Mark C. Biderman sold 10,000 shares of the firm's 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 owns 60,787 shares of the company's stock, valued at $576,260.76. This trade represents a 14.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Stuart Rothstein sold 52,074 shares of Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 17th. The shares were 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 of the company's stock, valued at approximately $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. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 73,074 shares of company stock valued at $724,579. Corporate insiders own 0.68% of the company's stock.

Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance Price Performance

NYSE:ARI traded down $0.16 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $9.75. 319,723 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,111,212. Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance, Inc. has a 12-month low of $7.70 and a 12-month high of $11.20. The company has a quick ratio of 51.19, a current ratio of 51.19 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67. The company has a market cap of $1.36 billion, a PE ratio of -10.25 and a beta of 1.49. The business's 50-day moving average price is $9.25 and its 200 day moving average price is $9.22.

Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance (NYSE:ARI - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 10th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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%. On average, analysts expect that Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance, Inc. will post 0.63 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared 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. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 10.25%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 31st. Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -3,333.33%.

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.