SG Americas Securities LLC Sells 54,505 Shares of Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance $ARI

SG Americas Securities LLC decreased its holdings in shares of Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance (NYSE:ARI) by 54.5% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 45,435 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 54,505 shares during the quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC’s holdings in Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance were worth $480,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. No Street GP LP grew its holdings in shares of Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance by 33.3% during the 3rd quarter. No Street GP LP now owns 3,000,000 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $30,390,000 after purchasing an additional 750,000 shares during the last quarter. Waterfall Asset Management LLC bought a new position in Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $5,557,000. First Trust Advisors LP lifted its stake in Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance by 710.3% in the 4th quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 636,383 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $6,160,000 after purchasing an additional 557,850 shares during the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC lifted its stake in Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance by 2,573.9% in the 4th quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 504,054 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $4,879,000 after purchasing an additional 485,203 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. boosted its position in Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance by 50.4% in the second quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,291,072 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $12,498,000 after buying an additional 432,377 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 54.43% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance

In related news, Director Carmencita N.M. Whonder sold 4,574 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $10.93, for a total value of $49,993.82. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 24,799 shares in the company, valued at $271,053.07. This represents a 15.57% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.52% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have weighed in on ARI shares. Bank of America initiated coverage on shares of Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance in a research note on Tuesday, May 5th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $11.50 target price on the stock. BTIG Research cut Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 25th. Zacks Research raised Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, April 20th. Wall Street Zen lowered Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 2nd. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance in a report on Friday, May 22nd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $11.12.

Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance Stock Down 0.8%

NYSE:ARI opened at $10.14 on Thursday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $10.82 and its 200 day simple moving average is $10.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 81.81 and a quick ratio of 81.80. Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance has a one year low of $9.49 and a one year high of $11.24. The company has a market cap of $1.33 billion, a PE ratio of 12.52 and a beta of 1.35.

Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance (NYSE:ARI) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.29 by ($0.07). Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance had a net margin of 48.01% and a return on equity of 7.87%. The business had revenue of $58.63 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $77.85 million. On average, research analysts anticipate that Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance will post 0.88 earnings per share for the current year.

Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 30th will be paid a $3.75 dividend. This is a boost from Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. This represents a $15.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 147.9%. Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance’s payout ratio is currently 123.46%.

Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance Company Profile

Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance, Inc (NYSE: ARI) is a real estate finance company structured as a real estate investment trust (REIT). The company focuses on originating, acquiring and managing a diversified portfolio of commercial real estate debt and preferred equity investments. As an externally managed vehicle, ARI leverages the expertise and resources of an affiliate of Apollo Global Management, a leading global alternative investment manager.

ARI’s investment strategy is centered on providing first mortgage loans, mezzanine debt financing, bridge loans and preferred equity across a broad range of property types, including office, retail, industrial and multifamily assets.