Vontobel Holding Ltd. Grows Stake in Apollo Global Management Inc. (NYSE:APO)

Vontobel Holding Ltd. lifted its stake in Apollo Global Management Inc. (NYSE:APO - Free Report) by 79.7% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 17,281 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 7,664 shares during the quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd.'s holdings in Apollo Global Management were worth $2,366,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in APO. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Apollo Global Management by 64.6% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 9,413,245 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,550,316,000 after purchasing an additional 3,695,979 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Apollo Global Management by 8.9% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 45,135,384 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $7,454,560,000 after acquiring an additional 3,691,700 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its stake in shares of Apollo Global Management by 245.9% in the fourth quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 2,653,160 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $438,196,000 after acquiring an additional 1,886,146 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its stake in shares of Apollo Global Management by 36.9% in the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 6,452,004 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,065,615,000 after acquiring an additional 1,739,807 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp grew its stake in shares of Apollo Global Management by 50.0% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 4,382,740 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $723,853,000 after acquiring an additional 1,460,689 shares during the last quarter. 77.06% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. TD Cowen reduced their target price on shares of Apollo Global Management from $214.00 to $144.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on shares of Apollo Global Management from $170.00 to $131.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Cowen restated a "buy" rating on shares of Apollo Global Management in a research note on Monday, May 5th. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Apollo Global Management from $145.00 to $156.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, May 5th. Finally, Bank of America boosted their price objective on Apollo Global Management from $186.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, April 4th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Apollo Global Management presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $159.00.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Martin Kelly sold 4,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $132.57, for a total transaction of $530,280.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 373,164 shares in the company, valued at $49,470,351.48. This represents a 1.06% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Insiders own 8.20% of the company's stock.

Apollo Global Management Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:APO traded up $1.95 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $144.73. 1,402,169 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,929,061. The company has a quick ratio of 1.36, a current ratio of 1.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34. Apollo Global Management Inc. has a 12 month low of $95.11 and a 12 month high of $189.49. The firm has a market capitalization of $82.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 1.59. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $136.13 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $144.93.

Apollo Global Management (NYSE:APO - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Friday, May 2nd. The financial services provider reported $1.82 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.84 by ($0.02). The business had revenue of $5.55 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $977.14 million. Apollo Global Management had a return on equity of 13.45% and a net margin of 14.59%. Apollo Global Management's revenue was down 21.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.72 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts expect that Apollo Global Management Inc. will post 8 earnings per share for the current year.

Apollo Global Management Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 16th were issued a $0.51 dividend. This is a boost from Apollo Global Management's previous quarterly dividend of $0.46. This represents a $2.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.41%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 16th. Apollo Global Management's dividend payout ratio is presently 35.73%.

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.