ATX Financial Planning LLC Takes Position in Apollo Global Management Inc. $APO

Key Points

• ATX Financial Planning LLC initiated a new position in Apollo Global Management, buying 8,056 shares valued at about $1.166 million in the fourth quarter.
• Institutional ownership remains heavy, with firms like Vanguard, Geode, and Northern Trust adding to their stakes; overall, about 77.06% of APO shares are held by hedge funds and other institutions.
• Apollo reported Q1 EPS of $1.94, beating estimates, and recently raised its quarterly dividend to $0.5625 per share from $0.51, though the stock also saw some mixed analyst sentiment and insider selling.

ATX Financial Planning LLC purchased a new stake in Apollo Global Management Inc. (NYSE:APO - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 8,056 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $1,166,000.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in Apollo Global Management by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 47,760,608 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $6,913,826,000 after acquiring an additional 340,956 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Apollo Global Management by 2.0% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 10,198,837 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,469,793,000 after purchasing an additional 200,312 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Apollo Global Management by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 4,448,618 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $643,982,000 after purchasing an additional 62,831 shares during the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc boosted its position in shares of Apollo Global Management by 4.5% in the 4th quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 3,611,839 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $522,850,000 after purchasing an additional 155,857 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Apollo Global Management by 3.1% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,288,100 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $475,985,000 after purchasing an additional 98,945 shares during the period. 77.06% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

APO has been the topic of several research analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets cut their price target on Apollo Global Management from $135.00 to $116.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, March 24th. Weiss Ratings downgraded Apollo Global Management from a "hold (c)" rating to a "hold (c-)" rating in a report on Monday, May 11th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Apollo Global Management from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Saturday, May 9th. UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of Apollo Global Management from $138.00 to $158.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, May 8th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price target on shares of Apollo Global Management from $139.00 to $146.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $151.23.

Insider Activity at Apollo Global Management

In related news, insider John P. Zito sold 48,644 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $130.66, for a total value of $6,355,825.04. Following the sale, the insider owned 3,063,696 shares in the company, valued at $400,302,519.36. This represents a 1.56% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 8.30% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Apollo Global Management Stock Down 0.8%

APO stock opened at $137.85 on Friday. Apollo Global Management Inc. has a one year low of $99.56 and a one year high of $157.28. The company has a fifty day moving average of $127.53 and a 200-day moving average of $128.17. The stock has a market capitalization of $79.47 billion, a PE ratio of 87.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.20 and a beta of 1.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a quick ratio of 1.73 and a current ratio of 1.73.

Apollo Global Management (NYSE:APO - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The financial services provider reported $1.94 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.89 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $5.06 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $5.19 billion. Apollo Global Management had a return on equity of 14.43% and a net margin of 3.62%.The firm's quarterly revenue was down 8.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.82 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Apollo Global Management Inc. will post 8.28 EPS for the current year.

Apollo Global Management Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 29th. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 19th were issued a dividend of $0.5625 per share. This is an increase from Apollo Global Management's previous quarterly dividend of $0.51. This represents a $2.25 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, May 19th. Apollo Global Management's payout ratio is presently 143.31%.

About Apollo Global Management

Apollo Global Management, Inc NYSE: APO is a global alternative investment manager that specializes in private equity, credit and real assets. The firm originates, invests in and manages a broad set of strategies across distressed and opportunistic credit, direct lending, structured credit, buyouts and real estate. Apollo provides investment management and advisory services to institutional clients and individual investors through pooled funds, separate accounts and publicly listed investment vehicles.

Its private equity business pursues control and non-control investments across industries, often focusing on complex or distressed situations where operational improvement and capital solutions can create value.

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