The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company Trims Stake in Apollo Global Management Inc. $APO

Key Points

• The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company reduced its stake in Apollo Global Management Inc. by 11.8%, owning 331,763 shares, which were worth approximately $45.4 million at the end of the first quarter.
• Insider transactions showed significant sales, including CFO Martin Kelly who sold 15,500 shares, indicating a 4.46% decrease in his ownership.
• Analysts have generally positive views on Apollo Global Management, with Citigroup raising its price target to $170 and a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy."

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company trimmed its holdings in shares of Apollo Global Management Inc. (NYSE:APO - Free Report) by 11.8% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 331,763 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 44,423 shares during the quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company owned approximately 0.06% of Apollo Global Management worth $45,432,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Fourth Dimension Wealth LLC bought a new stake in Apollo Global Management during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. GW&K Investment Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Apollo Global Management by 84.5% in the first 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 increased its stake in shares of Apollo Global Management by 285.0% in the first quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 231 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 171 shares in the last quarter. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Apollo Global Management in the first quarter worth $39,000. Finally, Meeder Asset Management Inc. increased its stake 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 in the last quarter. 77.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Apollo Global Management

In other news, CFO Martin Kelly sold 15,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $145.11, for a total value of $2,249,205.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 332,399 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $48,234,418.89. This represents a 4.46% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Whitney Chatterjee sold 4,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $146.03, for a total transaction of $657,135.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 83,192 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,148,527.76. This represents a 5.13% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 8.20% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

APO has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on shares of Apollo Global Management from $155.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 6th. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Apollo Global Management from $156.00 to $168.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, July 10th. Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of Apollo Global Management from $160.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, July 10th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Apollo Global Management from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, August 16th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price 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 equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have given a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Apollo Global Management has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $164.56.

Apollo Global Management Price Performance

Apollo Global Management stock traded down $3.25 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $131.51. 4,518,043 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,595,824. The company has a market cap of $75.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.58, a PEG ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 1.69. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $142.88 and a two-hundred day moving average of $137.85. The company has a quick ratio of 1.27, a current ratio of 1.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37. Apollo Global Management Inc. has a 12-month low of $102.58 and a 12-month high of $189.49.

Apollo Global Management (NYSE:APO - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 5th. The financial services provider reported $1.92 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.84 by $0.08. The company had revenue of $6,550,000 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 in the prior year, the firm earned $1.64 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that Apollo Global Management Inc. will post 8 earnings per share for the current year.

Apollo Global Management Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 29th. Investors of record on Monday, August 18th were paid a dividend of $0.51 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 18th. This represents a $2.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.6%. Apollo Global Management's dividend payout ratio is presently 38.13%.

Apollo Global Management 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.