Rhumbline Advisers Sells 27,461 Shares of Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance, Inc. (NYSE:ARI)

Rhumbline Advisers lowered its position in Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance, Inc. (NYSE:ARI - Free Report) by 6.4% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 399,412 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after selling 27,461 shares during the quarter. Rhumbline Advisers owned 0.29% of Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance worth $3,822,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 15,236,601 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $131,949,000 after buying an additional 135,785 shares during the last quarter. Nomura Holdings Inc. bought a new position in shares of Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance in the fourth quarter worth about $31,684,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance by 7.7% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,263,378 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $19,601,000 after purchasing an additional 162,089 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp grew its stake in shares of Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance by 14.9% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,745,469 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $15,116,000 after purchasing an additional 226,399 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp increased its holdings in shares of 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 valued at $9,210,000 after purchasing an additional 115,109 shares in the last quarter. 54.43% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance

In other news, Director Mark C. Biderman sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $9.48, for a total value 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. This represents a 14.13% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.68% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have issued reports on ARI. UBS Group reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and set a $10.00 price objective (up previously from $9.00) on shares of Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance from $8.00 to $9.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, April 28th. BTIG Research raised shares of Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $11.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on shares of Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance from $10.00 to $10.50 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 29th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $10.13.

Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance Stock Up 0.2%

Shares of ARI traded up $0.02 on Monday, hitting $9.84. The company's stock had a trading volume of 93,597 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,134,777. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $9.35 and its 200-day moving average price is $9.34. The company has a quick ratio of 51.19, a current ratio of 51.19 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67. Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $7.70 and a fifty-two week high of $11.20. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -10.35 and a beta of 1.48.

Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 30th will be given a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 30th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 10.16%. Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -3,333.33%.

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.