Wealthfront Advisers LLC Grows Stock Holdings in Apollo Global Management Inc. $APO

Key Points

• Wealthfront Advisers LLC increased its stake in Apollo Global Management by 20.3% in the first quarter, adding 9,513 shares to bring its total to 56,326 shares worth about $6.28 million.
• Other institutional investors also boosted holdings, and hedge funds and institutions now own 77.06% of Apollo’s stock. Meanwhile, insider John P. Zito sold 48,644 shares in late May, trimming his position by 1.56%.
• Analysts remain generally positive, with an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $149.50, though some firms recently lowered targets. Apollo also raised its quarterly dividend to $0.5625 per share, equal to a 1.9% annualized yield.

Wealthfront Advisers LLC raised its holdings in shares of Apollo Global Management Inc. (NYSE:APO - Free Report) by 20.3% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 56,326 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 9,513 shares during the quarter. Wealthfront Advisers LLC's holdings in Apollo Global Management were worth $6,276,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in APO. D.A. Davidson & CO. raised its stake in shares of Apollo Global Management by 28.1% during the 1st quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 23,532 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $2,622,000 after purchasing an additional 5,159 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its stake in Apollo Global Management by 7.0% in the 1st quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 2,901,110 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $323,242,000 after purchasing an additional 188,668 shares during the period. Sanctuary Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Apollo Global Management by 12.7% during the 1st quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 90,494 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $10,083,000 after buying an additional 10,172 shares in the last quarter. Arena Capital Advisors LLC CA purchased a new position in Apollo Global Management during the 1st quarter valued at about $279,000. Finally, Maryland State Retirement & Pension System increased its position in shares of Apollo Global Management by 5.4% during the first quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System now owns 21,446 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $2,390,000 after buying an additional 1,105 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 77.06% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Apollo Global Management

In other news, insider John P. Zito sold 48,644 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $130.66, for a total value of $6,355,825.04. Following the transaction, the insider owned 3,063,696 shares of the company's stock, valued at $400,302,519.36. This represents a 1.56% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 8.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on APO. TD Cowen lowered their price target on shares of Apollo Global Management from $155.00 to $146.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, May 18th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Apollo Global Management in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Apollo Global Management from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Saturday, May 9th. Royal Bank Of Canada lowered their target price on shares of Apollo Global Management from $146.00 to $137.00 and set a "sector perform" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, July 13th. Finally, Barclays raised their price target on shares of Apollo Global Management from $131.00 to $132.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, July 9th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have issued a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $149.50.

Apollo Global Management Stock Performance

Shares of APO opened at $120.51 on Friday. Apollo Global Management Inc. has a 12-month low of $99.56 and a 12-month high of $156.89. The company has a current ratio of 1.73, a quick ratio of 1.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45. The company has a market cap of $69.48 billion, a PE ratio of 76.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.04 and a beta of 1.50. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $127.52 and a 200-day moving average price of $125.06.

Apollo Global Management (NYSE:APO - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 6th. The financial services provider reported $1.94 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.89 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $5.06 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $5.19 billion. Apollo Global Management had a net margin of 3.62% and a return on equity of 14.43%. Apollo Global Management's revenue for the quarter was down 8.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.82 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Apollo Global Management Inc. will post 8.23 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Apollo Global Management Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 29th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 19th were paid a $0.5625 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, May 19th. This represents a $2.25 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.9%. This is a boost from Apollo Global Management's previous quarterly dividend of $0.51. Apollo Global Management's dividend payout ratio is presently 143.31%.

Apollo Global Management Company Profile

Apollo Global Management, Inc NYSE: APO is a global alternative investment manager that specializes in private equity, credit and real assets. The firm originates, invests in and manages a broad set of strategies across distressed and opportunistic credit, direct lending, structured credit, buyouts and real estate. Apollo provides investment management and advisory services to institutional clients and individual investors through pooled funds, separate accounts and publicly listed investment vehicles.

Its private equity business pursues control and non-control investments across industries, often focusing on complex or distressed situations where operational improvement and capital solutions can create value.

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