Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance $ARI Shares Acquired by Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC

Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance (NYSE:ARI) by 11.5% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 48,838 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after purchasing an additional 5,023 shares during the period. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC’s holdings in Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance were worth $482,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in ARI. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in shares of Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance by 1,088.1% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 9,790 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $1,023,000 after acquiring an additional 8,966 shares during the period. Merit Financial Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance by 2.8% during the first quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC now owns 117,847 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $1,128,000 after acquiring an additional 3,208 shares during the period. QRG Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance by 11.1% during the first quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 67,816 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $649,000 after acquiring an additional 6,787 shares during the period. PFG Investments LLC raised its holdings in shares of Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance by 2.5% during the first quarter. PFG Investments LLC now owns 50,764 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $486,000 after acquiring an additional 1,235 shares during the period. Finally, Teacher Retirement System of Texas acquired a new stake in shares of Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance during the first quarter valued at approximately $184,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 54.43% of the company’s stock.

Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance Stock Performance

Shares of ARI opened at $10.27 on Monday. The company’s fifty day moving average is $10.32 and its 200-day moving average is $9.79. Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance has a 12 month low of $7.70 and a 12 month high of $11.11. The firm has a market cap of $1.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -73.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.30 and a beta of 1.60. The company has a quick ratio of 98.25, a current ratio of 98.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66.

Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 30th will be paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 30th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 9.7%. Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance’s dividend payout ratio is -714.29%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on ARI. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of 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. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance in a research note on Saturday, September 27th. Zacks Research lowered shares of Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 16th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped 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 research note on Thursday, July 10th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $10.31.

Insider Activity at Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance

In other news, CEO Stuart Rothstein sold 52,073 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, September 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $10.78, for a total transaction of $561,346.94. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 281,781 shares in the company, valued at $3,037,599.18. This represents a 15.60% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.68% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance Company 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.