Focus Partners Wealth Boosts Holdings in Apollo Global Management Inc. $APO

Key Points

• Focus Partners Wealth dramatically increased its Apollo Global Management stake by 2,560.3% in the fourth quarter, ending with 1.4 million shares worth about $203.3 million.
• Institutional interest in Apollo remains strong, with hedge funds and other investors holding 77.06% of the company’s stock. Several firms also boosted positions, while insider John P. Zito sold 48,644 shares in late May.
• Apollo reported better-than-expected EPS of $1.94 and recently raised its quarterly dividend to $0.5625 per share. Analysts currently rate the stock a consensus Moderate Buy with a target price of $151.23.

Focus Partners Wealth grew its position in Apollo Global Management Inc. (NYSE:APO - Free Report) by 2,560.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,404,576 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 1,351,778 shares during the period. Focus Partners Wealth owned 0.24% of Apollo Global Management worth $203,324,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. NEOS Investment Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Apollo Global Management by 48.7% during the 3rd quarter. NEOS Investment Management LLC now owns 52,506 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $6,997,000 after purchasing an additional 17,204 shares during the period. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Apollo Global Management by 11.0% during the 3rd quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 900,554 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $120,017,000 after purchasing an additional 89,439 shares during the period. Swiss National Bank boosted its position in shares of Apollo Global Management by 4.0% during the 3rd quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 1,257,314 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $167,562,000 after purchasing an additional 48,400 shares during the period. Partners Group Holding AG boosted its position in shares of Apollo Global Management by 4.9% during the 3rd quarter. Partners Group Holding AG now owns 659,563 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $87,900,000 after purchasing an additional 30,793 shares during the period. Finally, Strive Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Apollo Global Management during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $27,420,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 77.06% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

APO has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price objective on shares of Apollo Global Management from $139.00 to $146.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Apollo Global Management from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Saturday, May 9th. TD Cowen lowered their price objective on shares of Apollo Global Management from $155.00 to $146.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, May 18th. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Apollo Global Management from a "hold (c)" rating to a "hold (c-)" rating in a research report on Monday, May 11th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Apollo Global Management in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $151.23.

Apollo Global Management News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Apollo Global Management this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Reports say Apollo is leaning toward Austin, Texas, for a second U.S. headquarters. A larger footprint in a major growth market could support long-term hiring, deal flow, and brand visibility. Apollo Global Management chooses Austin for second HQ, report says
• Positive Sentiment: Several reports highlighted Apollo’s role in large AI infrastructure financing, including backing Broadcom’s multi-billion-dollar AI push and lending against AI chips and computing power. Investors may see this as evidence that Apollo is well positioned to profit from booming demand for AI-related capital. Apollo Global Management (APO) Is Up 5.5% After Backing Broadcom’s $35 Billion AI Infrastructure Push
• Positive Sentiment: Apollo executives have been publicly emphasizing opportunities in AI, including screening software investments for AI threat risk and arguing that AI will pressure certain industries while creating attractive financing opportunities. That keeps Apollo in the center of a major market theme. Apollo Is Screening All Software Investments for AI Threat Risk
• Neutral Sentiment: Management also warned that software valuations may be overpriced and that private equity marks can be misstated. While this reflects Apollo’s cautious underwriting stance, it does not appear to be a direct negative for the stock today. Apollo’s Zito warns software valuations are overpriced, calls out private equity ‘misstating’ marks
• Neutral Sentiment: Apollo is reportedly seeking a Japan insurance license, which would expand its financial-services reach if approved, but the move is still subject to regulatory hurdles. Apollo seeks Japan insurance licence amid regulatory hurdles – report

Insider Activity

In other news, insider John P. Zito sold 48,644 shares of Apollo Global Management stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $130.66, for a total transaction of $6,355,825.04. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 3,063,696 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $400,302,519.36. The trade was a 1.56% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 8.30% of the company's stock.

Apollo Global Management Stock Performance

Shares of APO stock opened at $134.08 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.73, a current ratio of 1.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45. Apollo Global Management Inc. has a 52 week low of $99.56 and a 52 week high of $157.28. The stock has a market capitalization of $77.30 billion, a PE ratio of 85.40, a P/E/G ratio of 1.15 and a beta of 1.50. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $125.01 and a two-hundred day moving average of $127.98.

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

Apollo Global Management Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 29th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 19th were given a dividend of $0.5625 per share. This is an increase from Apollo Global Management's previous quarterly dividend of $0.51. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, May 19th. This represents a $2.25 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.7%. Apollo Global Management's dividend payout ratio is presently 143.31%.

Apollo Global Management Company Profile

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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