Principal Financial Group Inc. Buys 19,871 Shares of Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance (NYSE:ARI)

Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its stake in Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance (NYSE:ARI) by 3.2% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 636,985 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after acquiring an additional 19,871 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned 0.46% of Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance worth $6,096,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Versant Capital Management Inc increased its holdings in shares of Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance by 57.9% in the first quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 3,425 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 1,256 shares in the last quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance by 783.8% in the 4th quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 4,366 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $38,000 after buying an additional 3,872 shares during the last quarter. CF Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance in the 4th quarter valued at $52,000. Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp bought a new stake in shares of Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance during the fourth quarter worth $67,000. Finally, Xponance Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance during the fourth quarter worth $87,000. 54.43% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance Price Performance

Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance stock opened at $9.95 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 74.89, a quick ratio of 74.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.38 billion, a P/E ratio of -331.50, a PEG ratio of 0.27 and a beta of 1.46. The business has a 50-day moving average of $9.83 and a 200-day moving average of $9.46. Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance has a 1 year low of $7.70 and a 1 year high of $11.20.

Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 30th were issued a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 10.06%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 30th. Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -3,333.33%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently commented on the company. JMP Securities reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance in a research report on Tuesday, April 29th. BTIG Research upgraded shares of Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $11.00 price target for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on shares of Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance from $10.50 to $10.75 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, July 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance from $8.00 to $9.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, April 28th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $10.31.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Stuart Rothstein sold 52,074 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $9.83, for a total transaction of $511,887.42. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 333,854 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,281,784.82. This trade represents a 13.49% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Mark C. Biderman sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $9.48, for a total value of $94,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 60,787 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $576,260.76. This represents a 14.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.68% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.