Merit Financial Group LLC Decreases Holdings in Apollo Global Management, Inc. (NYSE:APO)

Merit Financial Group LLC cut its holdings in shares of Apollo Global Management, Inc. (NYSE:APO) by 31.1% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,596 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 719 shares during the quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC’s holdings in Apollo Global Management were worth $219,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in APO. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Apollo Global Management by 64.6% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 9,413,245 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,550,316,000 after purchasing an additional 3,695,979 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in Apollo Global Management by 8.9% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 45,135,384 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $7,454,560,000 after acquiring an additional 3,691,700 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its holdings in Apollo Global Management by 245.9% in the 4th quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 2,653,160 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $438,196,000 after acquiring an additional 1,886,146 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its holdings in Apollo Global Management by 36.9% in the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 6,452,004 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,065,615,000 after acquiring an additional 1,739,807 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp increased its holdings in Apollo Global Management by 50.0% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 4,382,740 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $723,853,000 after acquiring an additional 1,460,689 shares during the last quarter. 77.06% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Apollo Global Management Stock Performance

Shares of APO opened at $138.15 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $78.95 billion, a PE ratio of 18.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.17 and a beta of 1.59. The company has a current ratio of 1.44, a quick ratio of 1.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $131.88 and a 200-day moving average price of $149.04. Apollo Global Management, Inc. has a 12-month low of $95.11 and a 12-month high of $189.49.

Apollo Global Management (NYSE:APO) last released its earnings results on Friday, May 2nd. The financial services provider reported $1.82 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.84 by ($0.02). The firm had revenue of $5.55 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $977.14 million. Apollo Global Management had a return on equity of 13.97% and a net margin of 17.53%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 21.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.72 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Apollo Global Management, Inc. will post 8 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Apollo Global Management Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 30th. Investors of record on Friday, May 16th were given a $0.51 dividend. This is an increase from Apollo Global Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.46. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 16th. This represents a $2.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.48%. Apollo Global Management’s payout ratio is presently 35.73%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on Apollo Global Management from $170.00 to $131.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 14th. Piper Sandler decreased their price objective on Apollo Global Management from $193.00 to $174.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, May 5th. Bank of America lifted their price objective on Apollo Global Management from $186.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, April 4th. Raymond James initiated coverage on Apollo Global Management in a report on Thursday, April 10th. They issued a “strong-buy” rating and a $173.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Cowen restated a “buy” rating on shares of Apollo Global Management in a research note on Monday, May 5th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $159.00.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Lb 2018 Gst Trust purchased 607,725 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, April 4th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $111.39 per share, with a total value of $67,694,487.75. Following the purchase, the insider now directly owns 621,754 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $69,257,178.06. This trade represents a 4,331.92% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Martin Kelly sold 4,000 shares of Apollo Global Management stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $132.57, for a total value of $530,280.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 373,164 shares in the company, valued at $49,470,351.48. This trade represents a 1.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 8.50% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Apollo Global Management Company Profile

Apollo Global Management, Inc is a private equity firm specializing in investments in credit, private equity, infrastructure, secondaries and real estate markets. The firm prefers to invest in private and public markets. The firm’s private equity investments include traditional buyouts, recapitalization, distressed buyouts and debt investments in real estate, corporate partner buyouts, distressed asset, corporate carve-outs, middle market, growth, venture capital, turnaround, bridge, corporate restructuring, special situation, acquisition, and industry consolidation transactions.