JPMorgan Chase & Co. Purchases 271,908 Shares of Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance, Inc. (NYSE:ARI)

JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its stake in shares of Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance, Inc. (NYSE:ARI - Free Report) by 130.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 480,852 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after purchasing an additional 271,908 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. owned 0.35% of Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance worth $4,164,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 15,236,601 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $131,949,000 after acquiring an additional 135,785 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings 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 worth $19,601,000 after acquiring an additional 162,089 shares during the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp increased its stake in Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance by 12.1% in the fourth 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 during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its stake in shares of Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance by 5.8% during the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,022,941 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $8,859,000 after acquiring an additional 56,284 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance by 2.7% during the 4th quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 617,114 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $5,344,000 after acquiring an additional 16,040 shares during the last quarter. 54.43% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance Stock Performance

NYSE:ARI traded down $0.02 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $9.07. The stock had a trading volume of 291,981 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,103,624. Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance, Inc. has a 1-year low of $7.70 and a 1-year high of $11.20. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $9.40 and its 200-day simple moving average is $9.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 51.19 and a quick ratio of 51.19. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.26 billion, a P/E ratio of -9.55 and a beta of 1.41.

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

Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st were issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 11.03%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 31st. Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance's dividend payout ratio is -105.26%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently issued reports on ARI shares. BTIG Research raised shares of Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $11.00 target price for the company in a research report on Wednesday. UBS Group cut their target price on shares of Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance from $10.00 to $9.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded shares of Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $10.00 price target for the company in a research report on Monday, April 7th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on shares of Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance from $9.50 to $8.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $9.50.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, 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 value of $520,219.26. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 385,928 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,855,420.72. This trade represents a 11.89 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Carmencita N.M. Whonder sold 11,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $9.96, for a total value of $109,560.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 9,624 shares in the company, valued at $95,855.04. The trade was a 53.34 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.68% of the company's stock.

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.