Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund Cuts Stake in Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance (NYSE:ARI)

Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund cut its stake in shares of Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance (NYSE:ARI) by 4.8% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 65,200 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 3,313 shares during the quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund’s holdings in Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance were worth $624,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. PFG Investments LLC grew its position in Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance by 2.5% during the 1st quarter. PFG Investments LLC now owns 50,764 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $486,000 after purchasing an additional 1,235 shares during the last quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance by 11.1% in the first quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 67,816 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $649,000 after buying an additional 6,787 shares during the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lifted its stake in shares of Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance by 10.1% in the first quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 43,815 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $419,000 after buying an additional 4,023 shares in the last quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance by 2.8% in the first quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC now owns 117,847 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $1,128,000 after buying an additional 3,208 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in shares of Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance by 1,088.1% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 9,790 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $1,023,000 after buying an additional 8,966 shares during the last quarter. 54.43% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance

In other Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance news, Director Mark C. Biderman sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $9.48, for a total value of $94,800.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 60,787 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $576,260.76. This represents a 14.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Stuart Rothstein sold 52,074 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $9.83, for a total value of $511,887.42. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 333,854 shares in the company, valued at $3,281,784.82. The trade was a 13.49% 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.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance from $8.00 to $9.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, April 28th. JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance in a research report on Tuesday, April 29th. UBS Group reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $10.00 price objective (up from $9.00) on shares of Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. Finally, BTIG Research upgraded shares of Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $11.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $10.13.

Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance Trading Up 1.2%

NYSE:ARI opened at $9.91 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $1.38 billion, a PE ratio of -330.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.27 and a beta of 1.46. The company has a current ratio of 74.89, a quick ratio of 74.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $9.72 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $9.39. Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance has a 12 month low of $7.70 and a 12 month high of $11.20.

Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 30th will be paid a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 30th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 10.09%. Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -3,333.33%.

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.