Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance, Inc. (NYSE:ARI) Shares Purchased by Millennium Management LLC

Millennium Management LLC boosted its stake in Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance, Inc. (NYSE:ARI - Free Report) by 265.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 232,627 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after buying an additional 168,948 shares during the quarter. Millennium Management LLC owned approximately 0.17% of Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance worth $2,015,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance by 327.1% in the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 3,045 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 2,332 shares in the last quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance by 783.8% in the 4th quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 4,366 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $38,000 after buying an additional 3,872 shares in the last quarter. CF Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance in the 4th quarter worth $52,000. Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp acquired a new stake in shares of Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance in the 4th quarter worth $67,000. Finally, Xponance Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance in the 4th quarter worth $87,000. 54.43% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have issued reports on ARI shares. Wall Street Zen downgraded Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. JMP Securities reiterated a "market perform" rating on shares of Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance in a report on Tuesday, April 29th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance from $10.00 to $10.50 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 29th. UBS Group reiterated a "neutral" rating and set a $10.00 price target (up from $9.00) on shares of Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. Finally, BTIG Research upgraded Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $11.00 price target for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $10.13.

Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance Trading Up 0.3%

Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance stock traded up $0.03 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $9.85. 963,430 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,117,022. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $9.22 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $9.31. The company has a current ratio of 51.19, a quick ratio of 51.19 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67. The firm has a market cap of $1.37 billion, a PE ratio of -10.36 and a beta of 1.48. Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance, Inc. has a 12-month low of $7.70 and a 12-month high of $11.20.

Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st were paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 10.16%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 31st. Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance's payout ratio is -3,333.33%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Mark C. Biderman sold 10,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $9.48, for a total transaction of $94,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 60,787 shares in the company, valued at $576,260.76. The trade was a 14.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Stuart Rothstein sold 52,074 shares of Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $9.99, for a total value of $520,219.26. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 385,928 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,855,420.72. This trade represents a 11.89% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.68% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance Profile

Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance, Inc operates as a real estate investment trust (REIT) that originates, acquires, invests in, and manages commercial first mortgage loans, subordinate financings, and other commercial real estate-related debt investments in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Europe.