Morgan Stanley Cuts Apollo Global Management (NYSE:APO) Price Target to $151.00

Key Points

• Morgan Stanley has lowered its price target for Apollo Global Management from $154.00 to $151.00, indicating a potential upside of 19.57% from the stock's previous close.
• Various analysts have mixed ratings on Apollo, with Weiss Ratings maintaining a "hold" rating and Barclays reducing their price target to $147.00 while assigning an "overweight" rating.
• Recent insider sales include significant transactions by CEO Leon D. Black and CFO Martin Kelly, with corporate insiders now owning 8.20% of the company's stock.

Apollo Global Management (NYSE:APO - Get Free Report) had its price objective cut by equities researchers at Morgan Stanley from $154.00 to $151.00 in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an "equal weight" rating on the financial services provider's stock. Morgan Stanley's price objective suggests a potential upside of 19.57% from the stock's previous close.

Other equities analysts also recently issued research reports about the company. Weiss Ratings restated a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Apollo Global Management in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. BMO Capital Markets started coverage on Apollo Global Management in a research note on Friday, October 3rd. They set a "market perform" rating and a $132.00 price objective on the stock. Barclays lowered their price objective on Apollo Global Management from $168.00 to $147.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Wall Street Zen lowered Apollo Global Management from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Friday, October 3rd. Finally, Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on Apollo Global Management from $155.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 6th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Apollo Global Management has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $162.57.

Apollo Global Management Price Performance

Shares of NYSE APO traded up $1.09 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $126.28. The stock had a trading volume of 1,512,922 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,610,598. The company has a market capitalization of $72.24 billion, a PE ratio of 23.61, a P/E/G ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 1.68. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $133.93 and a 200-day simple moving average of $135.90. Apollo Global Management has a 1 year low of $102.58 and a 1 year high of $189.49. 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 (NYSE:APO - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, August 5th. The financial services provider reported $1.92 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.84 by $0.08. The business had revenue of $6,550,000 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 business posted $1.64 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Apollo Global Management will post 8 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Leon D. Black sold 915,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $134.03, for a total value of $122,637,450.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 4,526,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at $606,619,780. This represents a 16.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Martin Kelly sold 15,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $145.11, for a total transaction of $2,249,205.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 332,399 shares of the company's stock, valued at $48,234,418.89. This trade represents a 4.46% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 935,000 shares of company stock valued at $125,543,790 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 8.20% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Apollo Global Management

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in shares of Apollo Global Management by 61.8% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 4,478 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $613,000 after purchasing an additional 1,710 shares during the last quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Apollo Global Management by 6.0% during the 1st quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 171,195 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $23,443,000 after purchasing an additional 9,732 shares during the last quarter. Clearview Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Apollo Global Management by 420.7% during the 1st quarter. Clearview Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 21,558 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $2,952,000 after buying an additional 17,418 shares during the period. Embree Financial Group bought a new stake in shares of Apollo Global Management during the 1st quarter worth about $241,000. Finally, YHB Investment Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in Apollo Global Management by 30.1% in the 1st quarter. YHB Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 10,682 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,463,000 after purchasing an additional 2,473 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 77.06% of the company's stock.

About Apollo Global Management

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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