Nomura Holdings Inc. Invests $31.68 Million in Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance, Inc. (NYSE:ARI)

Nomura Holdings Inc. bought a new position in Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance, Inc. (NYSE:ARI - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 3,658,622 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock, valued at approximately $31,684,000. Nomura Holdings Inc. owned 2.63% of Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its position in Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance by 327.1% during the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 3,045 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 2,332 shares during the last quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC grew its position in Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance by 783.8% during the 4th quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 4,366 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 3,872 shares during the last quarter. CF Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance during the 4th quarter valued at about $52,000. Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp purchased a new stake in Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance during the 4th quarter valued at about $67,000. Finally, Xponance Inc. purchased a new stake in Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance during the 4th quarter valued at about $87,000. 54.43% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance

In other news, Director Carmencita N.M. Whonder sold 11,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $9.96, for a total value of $109,560.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 9,624 shares in the company, valued at $95,855.04. This represents a 53.34% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Stuart Rothstein sold 52,074 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $9.99, for a total transaction of $520,219.26. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 385,928 shares in the company, valued at $3,855,420.72. This trade represents a 11.89% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 73,074 shares of company stock worth $724,579. Company insiders own 0.68% of the company's stock.

Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance Stock Performance

ARI traded up $0.05 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $9.94. 870,405 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,112,902. The company has a quick ratio of 51.19, a current ratio of 51.19 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.38 billion, a PE ratio of -10.46 and a beta of 1.49. The company's 50-day moving average is $9.24 and its 200 day moving average is $9.24. Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance, Inc. has a 52 week low of $7.70 and a 52 week high of $11.20.

Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance (NYSE:ARI - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Monday, February 10th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.23 by $0.07. Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance had a negative net margin of 39.40% and a positive return on equity of 9.37%. On average, research analysts expect that Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance, Inc. will post 0.63 EPS for the current year.

Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st were paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 10.07%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 31st. Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance's dividend payout ratio is currently -3,333.33%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently commented on ARI. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on shares of Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance from $10.00 to $10.50 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 29th. JMP Securities reissued a "market perform" rating on shares of Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance in a research report on Tuesday, April 29th. UBS Group cut their price objective on shares of Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance from $10.00 to $9.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance from $8.00 to $9.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, April 28th. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $9.88.

About Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance

Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance, Inc operates as a real estate investment trust (REIT) that originates, acquires, invests in, and manages commercial first mortgage loans, subordinate financings, and other commercial real estate-related debt investments in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Europe.