Blue Trust Inc. Decreases Stake in Apollo Global Management, Inc. (NYSE:APO)

Blue Trust Inc. lowered its position in Apollo Global Management, Inc. (NYSE:APO) by 70.4% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 948 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 2,260 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc.’s holdings in Apollo Global Management were worth $157,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Partners Group Holding AG raised its holdings in shares of Apollo Global Management by 26.5% during the 3rd quarter. Partners Group Holding AG now owns 775,727 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $96,896,000 after acquiring an additional 162,678 shares during the period. Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC purchased a new position in shares of Apollo Global Management during the 4th quarter worth $3,994,000. Swedbank AB raised its holdings in shares of Apollo Global Management by 50.9% during the 3rd quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 77,938 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $9,735,000 after acquiring an additional 26,300 shares during the period. Fortress Financial Solutions LLC purchased a new position in shares of Apollo Global Management during the 4th quarter worth $685,000. Finally, Leavell Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Apollo Global Management by 39.8% during the 4th quarter. Leavell Investment Management Inc. now owns 6,150 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,016,000 after acquiring an additional 1,750 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 77.06% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Apollo Global Management

In other news, insider Leon D. Black sold 133,400 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $174.16, for a total transaction of $23,232,944.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 35,471,373 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,177,694,321.68. The trade was a 0.37 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Martin Kelly sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $158.28, for a total value of $791,400.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 377,164 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $59,697,517.92. This represents a 1.31 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 201,600 shares of company stock valued at $34,977,528 in the last three months. 8.50% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently commented on the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price target on Apollo Global Management from $196.00 to $194.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Apollo Global Management from $169.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Barclays lifted their price target on Apollo Global Management from $174.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, December 9th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Apollo Global Management from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on shares of Apollo Global Management from $161.00 to $178.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $165.74.

Apollo Global Management Stock Performance

NYSE APO opened at $156.88 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $88.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.46, a P/E/G ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 1.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 1.44 and a quick ratio of 1.44. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $166.42 and a two-hundred day moving average of $147.17. Apollo Global Management, Inc. has a 1-year low of $95.11 and a 1-year high of $189.49.

Apollo Global Management Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 28th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be given a $0.4625 dividend. This represents a $1.85 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.18%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 18th. Apollo Global Management’s dividend payout ratio is currently 25.31%.

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.