Advisors Asset Management Inc. Increases Stock Holdings in Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance, Inc. (NYSE:ARI)

Advisors Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance, Inc. (NYSE:ARI - Free Report) by 18.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 552,586 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after buying an additional 84,251 shares during the period. Advisors Asset Management Inc. owned about 0.40% of Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance worth $4,785,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ARI. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance by 7.7% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,263,378 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $19,601,000 after acquiring an additional 162,089 shares in the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp raised its position in Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance by 12.1% in the 4th quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 1,063,511 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $9,210,000 after purchasing an additional 115,109 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its position in shares of Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance by 5.8% during the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,022,941 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $8,859,000 after buying an additional 56,284 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance by 2.7% during the fourth quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 617,114 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $5,344,000 after buying an additional 16,040 shares during the period. Finally, Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance by 1.1% during the third quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC now owns 578,210 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $5,314,000 after buying an additional 6,200 shares during the period. 54.43% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Carmencita N.M. Whonder sold 11,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Stuart Rothstein sold 52,074 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 385,928 shares in the company, valued at $3,855,420.72. The trade was a 11.89 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.68% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ARI has been the subject of several analyst reports. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, February 15th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their target price on shares of Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance from $9.00 to $8.75 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, UBS Group increased their target price on Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance from $9.00 to $10.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $9.08.

Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance Stock Up 0.2 %

ARI stock traded up $0.02 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $9.87. 1,245,784 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,006,114. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $9.55 and its 200 day simple moving average is $9.28. Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance, Inc. has a 1-year low of $8.44 and a 1-year high of $11.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a quick ratio of 51.19 and a current ratio of 51.19. The company has a market cap of $1.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -10.39 and a beta of 1.74.

Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance (NYSE:ARI - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 10th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.30 EPS for the quarter, topping 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, equities analysts forecast that Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance, Inc. will post 0.63 earnings per share for the current year.

Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st will be given a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 10.13%. Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -105.26%.

Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance Profile

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.