UBS Group AG Increases Stock Position in Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance $ARI

UBS Group AG grew its stake in shares of Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance (NYSE:ARI) by 13.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 555,132 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after acquiring an additional 66,424 shares during the quarter. UBS Group AG owned about 0.40% of Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance worth $5,374,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in ARI. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance by 60.4% in the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,832 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 1,066 shares during the last quarter. Amalgamated Bank boosted its holdings in shares of Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance by 3.2% in the third quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 38,257 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $388,000 after buying an additional 1,182 shares during the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance by 18.6% in the third quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 8,346 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $85,000 after buying an additional 1,308 shares during the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance by 8.9% in the second quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 19,328 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $187,000 after buying an additional 1,582 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Farther Finance Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance by 60.2% in the fourth quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 5,037 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $49,000 after buying an additional 1,892 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 54.43% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance news, Director Carmencita N.M. Whonder sold 4,574 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $10.93, for a total transaction of $49,993.82. Following the sale, the director owned 24,799 shares in the company, valued at approximately $271,053.07. This trade represents a 15.57% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.68% of the company’s stock.

Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance Price Performance

NYSE ARI opened at $10.97 on Friday. Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance has a 12 month low of $9.39 and a 12 month high of $11.24. The stock has a market cap of $1.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.54 and a beta of 1.37. The company’s 50 day moving average is $10.77 and its two-hundred day moving average is $10.40. The company has a current ratio of 81.81, a quick ratio of 81.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68.

Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance (NYSE:ARI) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.22 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.29 by ($0.07). Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance had a return on equity of 7.87% and a net margin of 48.01%.The firm had revenue of $58.63 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $77.85 million. As a group, 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 Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 31st were paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 31st. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 9.1%. Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 123.46%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently issued reports on ARI. Zacks Research raised shares of Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, April 20th. Bank of America began coverage on shares of Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance in a report on Tuesday, May 5th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $11.50 price objective on the stock. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, May 2nd. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on shares of Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance from $10.75 to $11.50 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 12th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $11.13.

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.