AM Investment Strategies LLC Grows Stock Holdings in Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance $ARI

Key Points

• AM Investment Strategies LLC increased its stake in Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance by 29.3% in the second quarter, holding a total of 148,248 shares valued at approximately $1.4 million.
• Research firms have recently downgraded Apollo's stock rating, with Zacks moving it from "strong-buy" to "hold" and notable target price increases from Keefe, Bruyette & Woods and UBS Group.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.25, reflecting an annual yield of 9.5%, although its dividend payout ratio is significantly negative at -714.29%.

AM Investment Strategies LLC grew its holdings in shares of Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance (NYSE:ARI - Free Report) by 29.3% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 148,248 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after buying an additional 33,581 shares during the quarter. AM Investment Strategies LLC owned 0.11% of Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance worth $1,435,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its stake in Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance by 57.9% during the first quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 3,425 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 1,256 shares during the period. CWM LLC grew its stake in Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance by 39.2% during the first quarter. CWM LLC now owns 3,858 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $37,000 after buying an additional 1,087 shares during the period. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its stake in Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance by 94.1% during the first quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 5,909 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $57,000 after buying an additional 2,864 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance by 1,088.1% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 9,790 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $1,023,000 after buying an additional 8,966 shares during the period. Finally, Accuvest Global Advisors purchased a new stake in Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance during the first quarter worth approximately $107,000. 54.43% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have issued reports on ARI. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 16th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on shares of Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance from $10.50 to $10.75 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance from $10.00 to $10.50 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 15th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $10.31.

Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance Trading Up 0.0%

ARI opened at $10.50 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.46 billion, a PE ratio of -74.96, a P/E/G ratio of 0.30 and a beta of 1.57. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $10.25 and its 200 day moving average price is $9.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 98.25 and a quick ratio of 98.25. Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance has a 12-month low of $7.70 and a 12-month high of $11.11.

Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 30th will be issued a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 30th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 9.5%. Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance's dividend payout ratio is currently -714.29%.

Insider Transactions at Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance

In related news, CEO Stuart Rothstein sold 52,073 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, September 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $10.78, for a total value of $561,346.94. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 281,781 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,037,599.18. This represents a 15.60% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 0.68% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.