Liontrust Investment Partners LLP Takes $13.43 Million Position in Apollo Global Management Inc. $APO

Key Points

• Liontrust Investment Partners LLP acquired 98,076 shares of Apollo Global Management during the first quarter, valued at approximately $13.4 million, indicating growing institutional interest in the company.
• Apollo Global Management reported $1.92 EPS in its latest quarterly earnings, surpassing consensus estimates, and announced a dividend of $0.51 per share, reflecting a 1.4% yield.
• Analysts have varied target prices for Apollo Global Management, with a consensus target price of $161.26, indicating an overall moderate buy rating.

Liontrust Investment Partners LLP bought a new position in Apollo Global Management Inc. (NYSE:APO - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 98,076 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $13,431,000.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in APO. Horizon Investments LLC lifted its position in shares of Apollo Global Management by 55.9% during the 1st quarter. Horizon Investments LLC now owns 18,851 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $2,581,000 after buying an additional 6,757 shares during the last quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC raised its stake in Apollo Global Management by 10.0% in the 1st quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC now owns 1,174,713 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $160,865,000 after acquiring an additional 107,054 shares during the period. Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc. lifted its holdings in Apollo Global Management by 126.6% during the first quarter. Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc. now owns 6,586 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $902,000 after purchasing an additional 3,680 shares during the last quarter. Harfst & Associates Inc. bought a new position in Apollo Global Management during the first quarter worth about $745,000. Finally, Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund increased its stake in shares of Apollo Global Management by 3.6% in the first quarter. Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund now owns 77,615 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $10,629,000 after purchasing an additional 2,700 shares in the last quarter. 77.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently commented on APO. Citigroup upped their price target on shares of Apollo Global Management from $160.00 to $170.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Apollo Global Management from $160.00 to $173.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, July 11th. Cowen reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Apollo Global Management in a report on Monday, May 5th. Piper Sandler reduced their price target on Apollo Global Management from $193.00 to $174.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, May 5th. Finally, Evercore ISI raised their target price on Apollo Global Management from $155.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 6th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have assigned a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $163.28.

Apollo Global Management Price Performance

Shares of APO traded down $1.6810 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $135.3990. 3,362,984 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,193,998. Apollo Global Management Inc. has a 12 month low of $102.58 and a 12 month high of $189.49. The company has a current ratio of 1.27, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37. The stock has a market cap of $77.45 billion, a PE ratio of 25.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.48 and a beta of 1.62. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $142.95 and its 200-day simple moving average is $139.93.

Apollo Global Management (NYSE:APO - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, August 5th. The financial services provider reported $1.92 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.84 by $0.08. Apollo Global Management had a net margin of 13.25% and a return on equity of 13.38%. The business had revenue of $6,550,000 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.01 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.64 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that Apollo Global Management Inc. will post 8 EPS for the current year.

Apollo Global Management Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 29th. Investors of record on Monday, August 18th will be given a $0.51 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 18th. This represents a $2.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.5%. Apollo Global Management's payout ratio is 38.13%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Whitney Chatterjee sold 4,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $146.03, for a total value of $657,135.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 83,192 shares of the company's stock, valued at $12,148,527.76. This represents a 5.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Martin Kelly sold 15,500 shares of Apollo Global Management stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $145.11, for a total value of $2,249,205.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 332,399 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $48,234,418.89. This trade represents a 4.46% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 8.20% of the stock is owned by corporate 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.