Cerity Partners LLC Invests $111,000 in Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance (NYSE:ARI)

Cerity Partners LLC purchased a new position in Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance (NYSE:ARI) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 11,634 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock, valued at approximately $111,000.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance during the fourth quarter valued at $578,000. Corient Private Wealth LLC lifted its position in Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance by 71.9% during the fourth quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 19,747 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $171,000 after purchasing an additional 8,262 shares during the period. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS purchased a new stake in Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance in the fourth quarter worth approximately $221,000. LPL Financial LLC boosted its holdings in Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 278,588 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $2,413,000 after purchasing an additional 2,164 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 15,236,601 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $131,949,000 after purchasing an additional 135,785 shares during the last quarter. 54.43% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance Stock Performance

Shares of ARI opened at $9.80 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 74.89, a current ratio of 74.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $9.83 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $9.53. The stock has a market cap of $1.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -326.50, a PEG ratio of 0.26 and a beta of 1.46. Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance has a 52 week low of $7.70 and a 52 week high of $11.10.

Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 30th were given a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 10.21%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 30th. Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance’s payout ratio is -3,333.33%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ARI has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance from $8.00 to $9.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, April 28th. BTIG Research raised Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $11.00 target price on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. JMP Securities reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance in a report on Tuesday, April 29th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on 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. Finally, UBS Group increased their target price on Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance from $10.00 to $10.50 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $10.31.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance news, CEO Stuart Rothstein sold 52,074 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $9.83, for a total value of $511,887.42. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 333,854 shares in the company, valued at $3,281,784.82. This represents a 13.49% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.68% of the stock is currently owned by 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.