Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA Sells 85,982 Shares of Apollo Global Management Inc. (NYSE:APO)

Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA reduced its stake in Apollo Global Management Inc. (NYSE:APO - Free Report) by 3.2% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,567,178 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 85,982 shares during the quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA owned about 0.45% of Apollo Global Management worth $351,549,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 7,441 shares during the period. Blue Whale Capital LLP acquired a new position in shares of Apollo Global Management during the 4th quarter worth approximately $47,400,000. Clearview Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Apollo Global Management by 420.7% during the 1st quarter. Clearview Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 21,558 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $2,952,000 after purchasing an additional 17,418 shares in the last quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank grew its position in shares of Apollo Global Management by 209.0% during the 4th quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 162,659 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $26,864,000 after purchasing an additional 110,014 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sowell Financial Services LLC acquired a new position in shares of Apollo Global Management during the 1st quarter worth approximately $871,000. 77.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

APO has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on shares of Apollo Global Management from $170.00 to $131.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Raymond James Financial initiated coverage on shares of Apollo Global Management in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. They set a "strong-buy" rating and a $173.00 target price on the stock. Cowen restated a "buy" rating on shares of Apollo Global Management in a research report on Monday, May 5th. TD Cowen decreased their target price on shares of Apollo Global Management from $214.00 to $144.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. Finally, Evercore ISI increased their price target on shares of Apollo Global Management from $150.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $161.00.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Martin Kelly sold 4,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $132.57, for a total transaction of $530,280.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 373,164 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $49,470,351.48. This trade represents a 1.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 8.20% of the company's stock.

Apollo Global Management Price Performance

Apollo Global Management stock traded up $6.96 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $152.68. The company had a trading volume of 3,927,423 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,953,340. Apollo Global Management Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $95.11 and a fifty-two week high of $189.49. The company has a current ratio of 1.36, a quick ratio of 1.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34. The company has a market cap of $87.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.74, a P/E/G ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 1.59. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $138.11 and a 200 day simple moving average of $143.56.

Apollo Global Management (NYSE:APO - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Friday, May 2nd. The financial services provider reported $1.82 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.84 by ($0.02). Apollo Global Management had a net margin of 14.59% and a return on equity of 13.45%. The company had revenue of $5.55 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $977.14 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.72 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was down 21.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts predict that Apollo Global Management Inc. will post 8 earnings per share for the current year.

Apollo Global Management Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 16th were paid a dividend of $0.51 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 16th. This represents a $2.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.34%. This is an increase from Apollo Global Management's previous quarterly dividend of $0.46. Apollo Global Management's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 35.73%.

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.