Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Buys 45,596 Shares of Apollo Global Management Inc. $APO

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its stake in Apollo Global Management Inc. (NYSE:APO) by 299.1% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 60,840 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 45,596 shares during the quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A.’s holdings in Apollo Global Management were worth $8,631,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Apollo Global Management by 1.4% in the first quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 550,221 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $75,347,000 after buying an additional 7,441 shares in the last quarter. Clearview Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in Apollo Global Management by 420.7% in the 1st quarter. Clearview Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 21,558 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,952,000 after buying an additional 17,418 shares during the period. Sowell Financial Services LLC purchased a new stake in Apollo Global Management during the 1st quarter worth about $871,000. Elevation Point Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new position in Apollo Global Management in the first quarter worth approximately $492,000. Finally, True North Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Apollo Global Management during the 1st quarter worth $2,097,000. 77.06% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Apollo Global Management Stock Up 0.8%

Shares of Apollo Global Management stock opened at $145.07 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $82.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.12, a P/E/G ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 1.69. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $141.31 and a 200-day simple moving average of $137.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37, a current ratio of 1.27 and a quick ratio of 1.27. Apollo Global Management Inc. has a 52-week low of $102.58 and a 52-week high of $189.49.

Apollo Global Management (NYSE:APO) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 5th. The financial services provider reported $1.92 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.84 by $0.08. The business had revenue of $6,550,000 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.01 billion. Apollo Global Management had a return on equity of 13.38% and a net margin of 13.25%.During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.64 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that Apollo Global Management Inc. will post 8 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Apollo Global Management Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 29th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 18th were paid a $0.51 dividend. This represents a $2.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 18th. Apollo Global Management’s dividend payout ratio is presently 38.13%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Apollo Global Management from $160.00 to $173.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, July 11th. Evercore ISI raised their price objective on shares of Apollo Global Management from $155.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 6th. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Apollo Global Management from $156.00 to $168.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Apollo Global Management from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, August 16th. Finally, Citigroup raised their price target on shares of Apollo Global Management from $160.00 to $170.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 10th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have given a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $164.56.

Insider Buying and Selling at Apollo Global Management

In related news, insider Leon D. Black sold 915,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $134.03, for a total transaction of $122,637,450.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 4,526,000 shares in the company, valued at $606,619,780. This trade represents a 16.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Martin Kelly sold 15,500 shares of Apollo Global Management stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $145.11, for a total value of $2,249,205.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 332,399 shares in the company, valued at approximately $48,234,418.89. This represents a 4.46% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 935,000 shares of company stock valued at $125,543,790. Company insiders own 8.50% of the company’s stock.

About Apollo Global Management

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.