BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S Increases Stock Position in Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance, Inc. (NYSE:ARI)

BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S raised its position in shares of Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance, Inc. (NYSE:ARI - Free Report) by 21.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 272,585 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after purchasing an additional 48,092 shares during the quarter. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S owned approximately 0.20% of Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance worth $2,361,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance by 327.1% during the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 3,045 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 2,332 shares during the period. Sterling Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance by 783.8% during the fourth quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 4,366 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 3,872 shares in the last quarter. Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp purchased a new position in shares of Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance in the 4th quarter worth approximately $67,000. Xponance Inc. bought a new position in Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance in the 4th quarter valued at $87,000. Finally, Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd bought a new stake in Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance in the fourth quarter worth about $89,000. Institutional investors own 54.43% of the company's stock.

Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance Stock Up 1.2 %

Shares of NYSE:ARI traded up $0.11 during trading on Friday, reaching $9.20. 2,018,790 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,118,447. The stock has a market cap of $1.28 billion, a P/E ratio of -9.69 and a beta of 1.41. 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 stock has a 50-day moving average of $9.36 and a two-hundred day moving average of $9.16. Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance, Inc. has a 52-week low of $7.70 and a 52-week high of $11.20.

Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance (NYSE:ARI - Get Free Report) last issued its 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, sell-side analysts expect that Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance, Inc. will post 0.63 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st were paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 10.87%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 31st. Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance's dividend payout ratio is presently -3,333.33%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. BTIG Research upgraded 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance from $9.50 to $8.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. 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 on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 7th. UBS Group reduced their target price on shares of Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance from $10.00 to $9.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $9.50.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Carmencita N.M. Whonder sold 11,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $9.96, for a total value of $109,560.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 9,624 shares in the company, valued at $95,855.04. The trade was a 53.34 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Stuart Rothstein sold 52,074 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $9.99, for a total transaction of $520,219.26. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 385,928 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,855,420.72. This represents a 11.89 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.68% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.