Palestra Capital Management LLC Sells 242,179 Shares of Apollo Global Management Inc. $APO

Key Points

• Palestra Capital Management LLC reduced its holdings in Apollo Global Management by 34.0% in the first quarter, owning 470,278 shares after selling 242,179 shares.
• Apollo Global Management's market capitalization is $75.23 billion with a stock price opening at $131.51 on Friday, and several brokerages have raised their target prices for the stock.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.51 recently, which translates to an annualized yield of 1.6% with a payout ratio of 38.13%.

Palestra Capital Management LLC decreased its stake in shares of Apollo Global Management Inc. (NYSE:APO - Free Report) by 34.0% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 470,278 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 242,179 shares during the period. Apollo Global Management accounts for 2.5% of Palestra Capital Management LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 16th largest position. Palestra Capital Management LLC owned about 0.08% of Apollo Global Management worth $64,400,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Fourth Dimension Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of Apollo Global Management in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. GW&K Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in Apollo Global Management by 84.5% in the 1st quarter. GW&K Investment Management LLC now owns 190 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 87 shares in the last quarter. ORG Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Apollo Global Management by 285.0% in the 1st quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 231 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 171 shares during the period. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Apollo Global Management during the 1st quarter valued at $39,000. Finally, Meeder Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Apollo Global Management by 118.6% in the first quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 317 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $43,000 after purchasing an additional 172 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 77.06% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently commented on APO. Barclays boosted their target price on Apollo Global Management from $156.00 to $168.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. Wall Street Zen raised Apollo Global Management from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, August 16th. Citigroup raised their target price 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. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on shares of Apollo Global Management from $155.00 to $160.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 6th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Apollo Global Management from $160.00 to $173.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, July 11th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have given a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $164.56.

Apollo Global Management Trading Up 2.1%

Shares of APO traded up $2.74 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $136.38. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,757,675 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,591,896. Apollo Global Management Inc. has a 52 week low of $102.58 and a 52 week high of $189.49. The stock has a market cap of $78.01 billion, a PE ratio of 25.49, a P/E/G ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 1.69. The company's fifty day moving average price is $142.18 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $137.20. The company has a current ratio of 1.27, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37.

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

Apollo Global Management Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Activity at Apollo Global Management

In related news, insider Leon D. Black sold 915,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $134.03, for a total transaction of $122,637,450.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 4,526,000 shares in the company, valued at $606,619,780. This represents a 16.82% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Whitney Chatterjee sold 4,500 shares of Apollo Global Management stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 83,192 shares in the company, valued at $12,148,527.76. This trade represents a 5.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 935,000 shares of company stock worth $125,543,790 in the last ninety days. 8.20% of the stock is owned by company 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.