Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance, Inc. (NYSE:ARI) CEO Sells $520,219.26 in Stock

Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance, Inc. (NYSE:ARI) CEO Stuart Rothstein sold 52,074 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $9.99, for a total value of $520,219.26. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 385,928 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,855,420.72. The trade was a 11.89 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink.

Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance Stock Performance

NYSE:ARI opened at $9.96 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.38 billion, a PE ratio of -10.48 and a beta of 1.74. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $9.50 and its 200 day moving average is $9.29. Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $8.44 and a fifty-two week high of $11.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a quick ratio of 51.19 and a current ratio of 51.19.

Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance (NYSE:ARI) last announced its earnings results on Monday, February 10th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.30 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.23 by $0.07. Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance had a negative net margin of 39.40% and a positive return on equity of 9.37%. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance, Inc. will post 0.63 earnings per share for the current year.

Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be given a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 10.05%. Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -105.26%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. GSA Capital Partners LLP bought a new position in Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance in the 3rd quarter valued at $422,000. KBC Group NV boosted its stake in shares of Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance by 57.7% during the third quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 7,002 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $64,000 after purchasing an additional 2,562 shares during the period. Quest Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance by 960.9% in the third quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 101,641 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $934,000 after purchasing an additional 92,060 shares during the last quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. purchased a new position in Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance in the 3rd quarter worth about $322,000. Finally, Advisors Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance by 72.0% during the 3rd quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 468,335 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $4,304,000 after buying an additional 196,122 shares in the last quarter. 54.43% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently commented on ARI shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their target price on Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance from $9.00 to $8.75 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance from $9.00 to $10.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, February 15th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $9.08.

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.