LPL Financial LLC Has $2.41 Million Stock Holdings in Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance, Inc. (NYSE:ARI)

LPL Financial LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance, Inc. (NYSE:ARI) by 0.8% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 278,588 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after buying an additional 2,164 shares during the period. LPL Financial LLC’s holdings in Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance were worth $2,413,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance by 327.1% in the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 3,045 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 2,332 shares in the last quarter. Xponance Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance during the 4th quarter worth about $87,000. SG Americas Securities LLC bought a new stake in shares of Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance during the 4th quarter worth about $93,000. CIBC Asset Management Inc acquired a new position in shares of Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance during the 4th quarter valued at about $112,000. Finally, Cibc World Markets Corp bought a new position in shares of Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $112,000. Institutional investors own 54.43% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on ARI shares. UBS Group upped their target price on Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance from $9.00 to $10.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded shares of Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $10.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Monday, April 7th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, February 15th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has assigned 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 $9.50.

Insider Transactions at Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance

In other news, Director Carmencita N.M. Whonder sold 11,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $9.96, for a total transaction of $109,560.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 9,624 shares in the company, valued at approximately $95,855.04. The trade was a 53.34 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Stuart Rothstein sold 52,074 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $9.99, for a total value of $520,219.26. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 385,928 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,855,420.72. This trade represents a 11.89 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.68% of the company’s stock.

Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance Stock Performance

ARI opened at $8.10 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 51.19, a current ratio of 51.19 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $9.58 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $9.19. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.12 billion, a P/E ratio of -8.52 and a beta of 1.41. Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance, Inc. has a 12-month low of $7.70 and a 12-month high of $11.20.

Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance (NYSE:ARI) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 10th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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, equities analysts forecast 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 business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be given a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 12.35%. Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance’s dividend payout ratio is -105.26%.

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.