Northern Trust Corp Trims Stake in Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance $ARI

Key Points

• Northern Trust Corp reduced its stake in Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance by 3.1%, selling 54,498 shares, while maintaining ownership of 1.69 million shares valued at approximately $16.18 million.
• Several institutional investors, including Public Sector Pension Investment Board and AlphaCore Capital LLC, significantly increased their stakes in the company during the first quarter.
• Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance declared a quarterly dividend of $0.25 per share, resulting in an annualized dividend yield of 9.5%.

Northern Trust Corp lessened its holdings in Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance (NYSE:ARI - Free Report) by 3.1% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,690,971 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after selling 54,498 shares during the quarter. Northern Trust Corp owned 1.22% of Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance worth $16,183,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Fox Run Management L.L.C. purchased a new stake in Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $364,000. HighTower Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance by 26.3% in the 1st quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 13,620 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $130,000 after purchasing an additional 2,840 shares in the last quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board boosted its holdings in Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance by 28.0% in the 1st quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 405,208 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $3,878,000 after purchasing an additional 88,532 shares in the last quarter. Nuveen LLC purchased a new stake in Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $7,813,000. Finally, AlphaCore Capital LLC boosted its holdings in Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance by 172.6% in the 1st quarter. AlphaCore Capital LLC now owns 112,079 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $1,101,000 after purchasing an additional 70,960 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 54.43% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance

In related news, CEO Stuart Rothstein sold 52,074 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $9.83, for a total value of $511,887.42. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 333,854 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,281,784.82. This represents a 13.49% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.68% of the company's stock.

Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:ARI traded up $0.07 during trading on Friday, hitting $10.96. 926,628 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 701,399. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $10.04 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $9.71. The company has a market cap of $1.52 billion, a PE ratio of -78.25, a P/E/G ratio of 0.32 and a beta of 1.57. The company has a current ratio of 98.25, a quick ratio of 98.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66. Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance has a 12-month low of $7.70 and a 12-month high of $11.04.

Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 30th were paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 30th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 9.1%. Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance's payout ratio is -714.29%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on ARI shares. UBS Group lifted their price objective on Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance from $10.00 to $10.50 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance from $10.50 to $10.75 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $10.31.

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.