Nuveen Asset Management LLC Acquires 139,643 Shares of Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance, Inc. (NYSE:ARI)

Nuveen Asset Management LLC grew its position in shares of Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance, Inc. (NYSE:ARI - Free Report) by 26.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 666,730 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after purchasing an additional 139,643 shares during the period. Nuveen Asset Management LLC owned approximately 0.48% of Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance worth $5,774,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in ARI. Barclays PLC grew its position in shares of Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance by 65.9% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 329,462 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $3,028,000 after purchasing an additional 130,892 shares in the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC purchased a new position in Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance in the fourth quarter worth about $93,000. EMC Capital Management grew its position in Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance by 272.1% in the fourth quarter. EMC Capital Management now owns 14,089 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $122,000 after acquiring an additional 10,303 shares in the last quarter. Institute for Wealth Management LLC. grew its position in Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance by 14.6% in the fourth quarter. Institute for Wealth Management LLC. now owns 27,485 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $238,000 after acquiring an additional 3,500 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp grew its position in Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance by 12.1% in the fourth quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 1,063,511 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $9,210,000 after acquiring an additional 115,109 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 54.43% of the company's stock.

Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance Trading Down 0.3%

NYSE ARI traded down $0.03 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $9.83. The stock had a trading volume of 876,202 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,116,328. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a quick ratio of 51.19 and a current ratio of 51.19. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -10.35 and a beta of 1.49. Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance, Inc. has a one year low of $7.70 and a one year high of $11.20. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $9.22 and a 200 day simple moving average of $9.30.

Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st were paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 10.17%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 31st. Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance's dividend payout ratio is presently -3,333.33%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Mark C. Biderman sold 10,000 shares of Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 29th. The shares were 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 of the company's stock, valued at approximately $576,260.76. The trade was a 14.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 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 shares were sold at an average price of $9.99, for a total transaction of $520,219.26. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 385,928 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,855,420.72. This represents a 11.89% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.68% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently commented on the company. Wall Street Zen lowered Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. 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 research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance from $10.00 to $10.50 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 29th. JMP Securities reiterated a "market perform" rating on shares of Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance in a research report on Tuesday, April 29th. Finally, UBS Group reissued a "neutral" rating and issued a $10.00 price objective (up previously from $9.00) on shares of Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $10.13.

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.