Apollo Global Management (NYSE:APO) Downgraded by Wall Street Zen to “Sell”

Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Apollo Global Management (NYSE:APO) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research note released on Friday morning.

Other equities research analysts also recently issued research reports about the company. BMO Capital Markets began coverage on Apollo Global Management in a research report on Friday. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $132.00 price objective on the stock. Barclays raised their price target on Apollo Global Management from $156.00 to $168.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Apollo Global Management from $160.00 to $173.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, July 11th. Citigroup raised their price target on Apollo Global Management from $160.00 to $170.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Apollo Global Management in a report on Saturday, September 27th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have given a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $164.07.

Apollo Global Management Stock Performance

Shares of Apollo Global Management stock opened at $125.81 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.27, a current ratio of 1.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37. The stock has a market cap of $71.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.52, a P/E/G ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 1.68. The company’s fifty day moving average is $138.35 and its 200 day moving average is $137.03. Apollo Global Management has a twelve month low of $102.58 and a twelve month high of $189.49.

Apollo Global Management (NYSE:APO) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 5th. The financial services provider reported $1.92 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.84 by $0.08. The company had revenue of $6,550,000 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.01 billion. Apollo Global Management had a net margin of 13.25% and a return on equity of 13.38%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.64 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Apollo Global Management will post 8 EPS for the current year.

Apollo Global Management Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 29th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 18th were given a dividend of $0.51 per share. This represents a $2.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.6%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 18th. Apollo Global Management’s dividend payout ratio is currently 38.13%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Martin Kelly sold 15,500 shares of Apollo Global Management stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $145.11, for a total transaction of $2,249,205.00. Following 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Leon D. Black sold 915,000 shares of Apollo Global Management stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $134.03, for a total transaction of $122,637,450.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 4,526,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $606,619,780. The trade was a 16.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 935,000 shares of company stock valued at $125,543,790 in the last ninety days. 8.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Apollo Global Management

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Apollo Global Management by 1.4% during the first quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 550,221 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $75,347,000 after buying an additional 7,441 shares during the period. Clearview Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Apollo Global Management by 420.7% during the first quarter. Clearview Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 21,558 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,952,000 after purchasing an additional 17,418 shares during the last quarter. Sowell Financial Services LLC purchased a new position in shares of Apollo Global Management during the first quarter worth $871,000. Elevation Point Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Apollo Global Management during the first quarter worth $492,000. Finally, True North Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Apollo Global Management during the first quarter worth $2,097,000. 77.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.