Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance, Inc. (NYSE:ARI) Shares Sold by LSV Asset Management

LSV Asset Management trimmed its holdings in Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance, Inc. (NYSE:ARI - Free Report) by 44.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 198,282 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after selling 161,000 shares during the quarter. LSV Asset Management owned about 0.14% of Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance worth $1,717,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Jane Street Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance by 139.4% in the third quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 302,388 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $2,779,000 after acquiring an additional 176,101 shares during the period. Barclays PLC boosted its holdings in Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance by 65.9% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 329,462 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $3,028,000 after purchasing an additional 130,892 shares during the last quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC grew its position in Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance by 10.0% in the 4th quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC now owns 114,639 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $993,000 after purchasing an additional 10,447 shares during the period. Diversify Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance during the 4th quarter valued at $129,000. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC bought a new position in shares of Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance during the 4th quarter valued at $93,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 54.43% of the company's stock.

Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance Stock Performance

Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance stock traded up $0.17 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $8.34. The stock had a trading volume of 1,013,222 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,091,154. The company has a current ratio of 51.19, a quick ratio of 51.19 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67. Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance, Inc. has a 52-week low of $7.70 and a 52-week high of $11.20. The company has a market capitalization of $1.16 billion, a PE ratio of -8.77 and a beta of 1.41. The firm's fifty day moving average is $9.48 and its two-hundred day moving average is $9.16.

Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance (NYSE:ARI - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 negative net margin of 39.40% and a positive return on equity of 9.37%. On average, research analysts forecast that Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance, Inc. will post 0.63 EPS for the current year.

Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st were given a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 12.00%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 31st. Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance's dividend payout ratio is currently -105.26%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Carmencita N.M. Whonder sold 11,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the director now owns 9,624 shares of the company's stock, valued at $95,855.04. This represents a 53.34 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale 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 Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance stock in a transaction on Monday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $9.99, for a total value of $520,219.26. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 385,928 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,855,420.72. This trade represents 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 corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently commented on the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $10.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Monday, April 7th. UBS Group reduced their price target 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 report on Wednesday. StockNews.com raised shares of Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price 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. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $9.00.

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.