Empowered Funds LLC Has $3.84 Million Position in Apollo Global Management Inc. $APO

Key Points

• Empowered Funds LLC has reduced its stake in Apollo Global Management by 29.2%, selling 11,546 shares to hold a total of 28,029 shares valued at approximately $3.84 million.
• Analysts have recently increased their price targets for Apollo Global Management, with Citigroup setting a target of $170.00 and Wells Fargo raising it to $173.00, showing a positive outlook for the stock.
• Apollo Global Management declared a quarterly dividend of $0.51 per share, resulting in an annualized yield of 1.5% and a payout ratio of 38.13%.

Empowered Funds LLC lowered its stake in Apollo Global Management Inc. (NYSE:APO - Free Report) by 29.2% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 28,029 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 11,546 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC's holdings in Apollo Global Management were worth $3,838,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of APO. Fourth Dimension Wealth LLC bought a new stake in Apollo Global Management during the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. GW&K Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in Apollo Global Management by 84.5% during the 1st quarter. GW&K Investment Management LLC now owns 190 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 87 shares during the last quarter. ORG Partners LLC raised its holdings in Apollo Global Management by 285.0% during the 1st quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 231 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 171 shares during the last quarter. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. bought a new stake in Apollo Global Management during the 1st quarter worth about $39,000. Finally, Rise Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Apollo Global Management during the 1st quarter worth about $42,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 77.06% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

Apollo Global Management Price Performance

NYSE APO opened at $138.10 on Friday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $141.88 and a 200 day simple moving average of $137.07. Apollo Global Management Inc. has a 52-week low of $102.58 and a 52-week high of $189.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a current ratio of 1.27. The stock has a market cap of $79.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.81, a PEG ratio of 1.47 and a beta of 1.69.

Apollo Global Management (NYSE:APO - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, August 5th. The financial services provider reported $1.92 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates 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 business had revenue of $6,550,000 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.01 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.64 EPS. Analysts anticipate that Apollo Global Management Inc. will post 8 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Apollo Global Management Dividend Announcement

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Apollo Global Management news, insider Leon D. Black sold 915,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $134.03, for a total transaction of $122,637,450.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 4,526,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at $606,619,780. This represents a 16.82% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CFO Martin Kelly sold 15,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $145.11, for a total value of $2,249,205.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 332,399 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $48,234,418.89. The trade was a 4.46% decrease in their position. 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 quarter. 8.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Apollo Global Management Company Profile

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.

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