Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. Decreases Stake in Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance, Inc. (NYSE:ARI)

Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. lowered its position in Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance, Inc. (NYSE:ARI) by 64.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 10,727 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 19,179 shares during the quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance were worth $126,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. QRG Capital Management Inc. bought a new position in Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance in the 3rd quarter worth about $765,000. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund bought a new position in Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance in the 3rd quarter worth about $793,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance by 5.6% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,841,722 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $18,657,000 after purchasing an additional 98,053 shares during the period. Barclays PLC boosted its stake in Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance by 56.4% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 136,190 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $1,380,000 after purchasing an additional 49,124 shares during the period. Finally, Alps Advisors Inc. bought a new position in Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance in the 3rd quarter worth about $366,000. Institutional investors own 54.43% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ARI has been the subject of several analyst reports. Bank of America downgraded Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating and set a $10.50 target price for the company. in a research note on Monday, March 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance from $11.00 to $10.50 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. Finally, TheStreet upgraded Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance from a “d+” rating to a “c-” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 20th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and three have assigned a hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $10.50.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Stuart Rothstein sold 40,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $10.60, for a total value of $424,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 415,292 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,402,095.20. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.61% of the company’s stock.

Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance Stock Performance

Shares of ARI opened at $10.73 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $1.52 billion, a PE ratio of 35.77 and a beta of 1.67. The company has a current ratio of 67.74, a quick ratio of 67.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $10.95 and a 200-day moving average price of $11.00. Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance, Inc. has a 12-month low of $9.22 and a 12-month high of $12.74.

Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 28th were given a dividend of $0.35 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 27th. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 13.05%. Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 466.67%.

Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance 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.