AQR Capital Management LLC Raises Stock Holdings in Apollo Global Management Inc. $APO

Key Points

• AQR Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Apollo Global Management Inc. by 22.0% in the first quarter, owning 52,118 shares worth approximately $6.93 million as of the end of the quarter.
• Insiders, including CFO Martin Kelly, sold significant portions of their shares, with Kelly selling 15,500 shares valued at over $2.24 million, indicating a 4.46% decrease in his ownership.
• Apollo Global Management recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.51, representing an annualized yield of 1.5% and a dividend payout ratio of 38.13%.

AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Apollo Global Management Inc. (NYSE:APO - Free Report) by 22.0% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 52,118 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 9,410 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC's holdings in Apollo Global Management were worth $6,933,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in APO. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its stake in Apollo Global Management by 1.4% in the 1st quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 550,221 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $75,347,000 after buying an additional 7,441 shares during the last quarter. Clearview Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Apollo Global Management by 420.7% during the first quarter. Clearview Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 21,558 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $2,952,000 after acquiring an additional 17,418 shares during the period. Toronto Dominion Bank grew its position in shares of Apollo Global Management by 209.0% in the fourth quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 162,659 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $26,864,000 after purchasing an additional 110,014 shares during the last quarter. Sowell Financial Services LLC bought a new position in shares of Apollo Global Management during the first quarter worth approximately $871,000. Finally, Elevation Point Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Apollo Global Management during the 1st quarter worth approximately $492,000. 77.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Apollo Global Management Price Performance

Shares of APO stock traded up $1.70 on Friday, hitting $138.10. 2,306,536 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,131,071. The company has a 50 day moving average of $141.88 and a 200 day moving average of $137.00. The stock has a market cap of $79.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.47 and a beta of 1.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37, a current ratio of 1.27 and a quick ratio of 1.27. Apollo Global Management Inc. has a 12 month low of $102.58 and a 12 month high of $189.49.

Apollo Global Management (NYSE:APO - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, August 5th. The financial services provider reported $1.92 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.84 by $0.08. Apollo Global Management had a return on equity of 13.38% and a net margin of 13.25%.The firm had revenue of $6,550,000 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.01 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.64 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that Apollo Global Management Inc. will post 8 EPS for the current year.

Apollo Global Management Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 29th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 18th were issued a $0.51 dividend. This represents a $2.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 18th. Apollo Global Management's dividend payout ratio is presently 38.13%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Apollo Global Management news, insider Leon D. Black sold 915,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $134.03, for a total value of $122,637,450.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 4,526,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $606,619,780. This trade represents a 16.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Whitney Chatterjee sold 4,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $146.03, for a total value of $657,135.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 83,192 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,148,527.76. This trade represents a 5.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 935,000 shares of company stock valued at $125,543,790 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 8.20% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

APO has been the subject of a number of research reports. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Apollo Global Management from $160.00 to $173.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, July 11th. Citigroup lifted their price objective on shares of Apollo Global Management from $160.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Apollo Global Management from $156.00 to $168.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, July 10th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Apollo Global Management from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, August 16th. Finally, Evercore ISI boosted their price target on Apollo Global Management from $155.00 to $160.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have given a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Apollo Global Management presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $164.56.

About Apollo Global Management

Apollo Global Management, Inc is a private equity firm specializing in investments in credit, private equity, infrastructure, secondaries and real estate markets. The firm prefers to invest in private and public markets. The firm's private equity investments include traditional buyouts, recapitalization, distressed buyouts and debt investments in real estate, corporate partner buyouts, distressed asset, corporate carve-outs, middle market, growth, venture capital, turnaround, bridge, corporate restructuring, special situation, acquisition, and industry consolidation transactions.