Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance, Inc. (NYSE:ARI) Stake Lowered by Bank of America Corp DE

Bank of America Corp DE lowered its position in Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance, Inc. (NYSE:ARI - Free Report) by 36.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 214,899 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after selling 123,070 shares during the quarter. Bank of America Corp DE owned 0.16% of Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance worth $1,861,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 15,236,601 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $131,949,000 after purchasing an additional 135,785 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance by 7.7% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,263,378 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $19,601,000 after purchasing an additional 162,089 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp increased its position in Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance by 14.9% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,745,469 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $15,116,000 after purchasing an additional 226,399 shares in the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp increased its position in Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance by 12.1% during the 4th quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 1,063,511 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $9,210,000 after purchasing an additional 115,109 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its position in Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance by 5.8% during the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,022,941 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $8,859,000 after purchasing an additional 56,284 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 54.43% of the company's stock.

Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance Stock Up 1.1%

Shares of NYSE ARI traded up $0.11 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $9.95. 626,781 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,116,934. Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance, Inc. has a 52-week low of $7.70 and a 52-week high of $11.20. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.38 billion, a PE ratio of -10.47 and a beta of 1.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a quick ratio of 51.19 and a current ratio of 51.19. The business's fifty day moving average price is $9.23 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $9.31.

Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st were given a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 10.06%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 31st. Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance's payout ratio is -3,333.33%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ARI has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. BTIG Research upgraded 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance from $8.00 to $9.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, April 28th. UBS Group restated a "neutral" rating and set a $10.00 price objective (up previously from $9.00) on shares of Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. JMP Securities restated a "market perform" rating on shares of Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance in a research note on Tuesday, April 29th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on 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. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $10.13.

Insider Transactions at Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance

In related news, Director Mark C. Biderman sold 10,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated 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 $576,260.76. The trade was a 14.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Stuart Rothstein sold 52,074 shares of the business'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 completion of the sale, 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.68% of the company's stock.

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.