Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance, Inc. (NYSE:ARI) Stake Increased by Alliancebernstein L.P.

Alliancebernstein L.P. boosted its position in shares of Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance, Inc. (NYSE:ARI) by 7.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 173,917 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after purchasing an additional 12,300 shares during the period. Alliancebernstein L.P.’s holdings in Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance were worth $1,506,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ARI. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 15,236,601 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $131,949,000 after purchasing an additional 135,785 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance by 7.7% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,263,378 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $19,601,000 after buying an additional 162,089 shares in the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp raised its position in Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance by 12.1% in the fourth quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 1,063,511 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $9,210,000 after purchasing an additional 115,109 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its stake in Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance by 5.8% in the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,022,941 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $8,859,000 after buying an additional 56,284 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance by 2.7% during the 4th quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 617,114 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $5,344,000 after purchasing an additional 16,040 shares in the last quarter. 54.43% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance Stock Performance

Shares of ARI stock opened at $8.34 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 51.19 and a quick ratio of 51.19. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $9.52 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $9.16. The stock has a market cap of $1.16 billion, a P/E ratio of -8.77 and a beta of 1.41. Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance, Inc. has a one year low of $7.70 and a one year high of $11.20.

Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance (NYSE:ARI) last posted its earnings results on Monday, February 10th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.30 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.23 by $0.07. Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance had a positive return on equity of 9.37% and a negative net margin of 39.40%. As a group, equities analysts predict that Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance, Inc. will post 0.63 EPS for the current year.

Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st were given a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 31st. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 12.00%. Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance’s dividend payout ratio is -105.26%.

Insider Activity

In related news, 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 385,928 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,855,420.72. This represents a 11.89 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Carmencita N.M. Whonder sold 11,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $9.96, for a total value of $109,560.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 9,624 shares in the company, valued at $95,855.04. This represents a 53.34 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.68% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have weighed in on ARI. 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 report on Monday, April 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on shares of Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance from $9.50 to $8.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. UBS Group reduced their target price on Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance from $10.00 to $9.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $9.00.

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.