Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance, Inc. (NYSE:ARI) Shares Sold by Prudential Financial Inc.

Prudential Financial Inc. decreased its stake in Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance, Inc. (NYSE:ARI - Free Report) by 57.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 132,075 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after selling 177,319 shares during the quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. owned about 0.10% of Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance worth $1,198,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. BNP Paribas Financial Markets lifted its position in Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance by 89.2% in the third quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 54,705 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $503,000 after buying an additional 25,784 shares during the last quarter. Paloma Partners Management Co purchased a new stake in shares of Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance in the third quarter valued at $143,000. Jane Street Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance by 139.4% in the 3rd 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 last quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd boosted its stake in shares of Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance by 619.3% during the 3rd quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd now owns 87,163 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $801,000 after purchasing an additional 75,046 shares during the period. Finally, Barclays PLC grew its holdings in Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance by 65.9% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 329,462 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $3,028,000 after purchasing an additional 130,892 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 54.43% of the company's stock.

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Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance Trading Down 1.4 %

ARI traded down $0.12 during trading on Friday, hitting $8.10. 1,627,452 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,077,521. 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 firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $9.58 and a 200 day simple moving average of $9.19. The firm has a market cap of $1.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -8.52 and a beta of 1.41. Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance, Inc. has a 1 year low of $7.48 and a 1 year high of $11.20.

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, 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%. As a group, equities analysts expect 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 declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be issued a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 12.35%. Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance's dividend payout ratio is currently -105.26%.

Insider Transactions at Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance

In related news, CEO Stuart Rothstein sold 52,074 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $9.99, for a total transaction of $520,219.26. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 385,928 shares of the company's stock, valued at $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 available through this link. Also, Director Carmencita N.M. Whonder sold 11,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $9.96, for a total transaction of $109,560.00. Following the completion of 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.68% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have issued reports on ARI shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised shares of 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 note on Monday. UBS Group increased their price target on Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance from $9.00 to $10.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, February 15th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $9.50.

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.