Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC Buys 5,774 Shares of Apollo Global Management Inc. $APO

Key Points

• Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased its stake in Apollo Global Management Inc. by 55.3%, acquiring an additional 5,774 shares during the second quarter, bringing its total holdings to 16,213 shares.
• Shares of Apollo Global Management have attracted positive attention from analysts, with several firms increasing their price targets, now averaging $166.27, reflecting a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy".
• The company recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.51 per share, translating to an annual yield of 1.5%, with a payout ratio of 38.13%.

Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC boosted its position in shares of Apollo Global Management Inc. (NYSE:APO - Free Report) by 55.3% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 16,213 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 5,774 shares during the period. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC's holdings in Apollo Global Management were worth $2,342,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in APO. GW&K Investment Management LLC raised its position in shares of 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 valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 87 shares during the last quarter. ORG Partners LLC boosted its stake in Apollo Global Management by 285.0% during the 1st quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 231 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 171 shares during the last quarter. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Apollo Global Management during the 1st quarter valued at about $39,000. Rise Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Apollo Global Management in the 1st quarter valued at about $42,000. Finally, Meeder Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in Apollo Global Management by 118.6% in the 1st quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 317 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $43,000 after buying an additional 172 shares during the period. 77.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently commented on APO. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Apollo Global Management from $160.00 to $173.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, July 11th. Citigroup upped their price target on Apollo Global Management from $160.00 to $170.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, July 10th. Barclays raised their target price on Apollo Global Management from $156.00 to $168.00 and gave the company an "overweight" 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 research note on Saturday, August 16th. Finally, Evercore ISI boosted their target price on Apollo Global Management from $155.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $166.27.

Apollo Global Management Stock Up 1.1%

Shares of APO stock opened at $137.65 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $78.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.73, a PEG ratio of 1.48 and a beta of 1.69. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $140.32 and its 200 day simple moving average is $137.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a current ratio of 1.27. Apollo Global Management Inc. has a twelve month low of $102.58 and a twelve month high of $189.49.

Apollo Global Management (NYSE:APO - Get Free Report) last released its 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 firm had revenue of $6,550,000 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.01 billion. Apollo Global Management had a return on equity of 13.38% and a net margin of 13.25%.During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.64 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Apollo Global Management Inc. will post 8 EPS for the current year.

Apollo Global Management Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Leon D. Black sold 915,000 shares of the company's 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 sale, the insider owned 4,526,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $606,619,780. This represents a 16.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Martin Kelly sold 15,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 332,399 shares in the company, valued at $48,234,418.89. The trade was a 4.46% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 935,000 shares of company stock worth $125,543,790. Corporate insiders own 8.20% of the company's stock.

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.

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