Smartleaf Asset Management LLC Raises Stake in Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance, Inc. (NYSE:ARI)

Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance, Inc. (NYSE:ARI) by 327.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 3,045 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,332 shares during the quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance were worth $27,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in ARI. GSA Capital Partners LLP purchased a new stake in shares of Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance during the third quarter valued at approximately $422,000. KBC Group NV boosted its stake in shares of Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance by 57.7% during the third quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 7,002 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $64,000 after purchasing an additional 2,562 shares during the period. Quest Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance by 960.9% during the third quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 101,641 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $934,000 after purchasing an additional 92,060 shares during the period. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance during the third quarter valued at approximately $322,000. Finally, Advisors Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance by 72.0% during the third quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 468,335 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $4,304,000 after purchasing an additional 196,122 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 54.43% of the company’s stock.

Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance Stock Performance

Shares of ARI stock opened at $9.89 on Thursday. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $9.39 and a 200 day moving average of $9.31. Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance, Inc. has a 52 week low of $8.44 and a 52 week high of $11.64. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -10.41 and a beta of 1.74. The company has a quick ratio of 51.19, a current ratio of 51.19 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67.

Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance (NYSE:ARI) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 10th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.30 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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, research analysts expect 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 company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be issued a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 10.12%. Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -105.26%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on ARI shares. StockNews.com raised Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, February 15th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price objective on Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance from $9.00 to $8.75 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, UBS Group raised their price target on Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance from $9.00 to $10.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $9.08.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance news, Director Carmencita N.M. Whonder sold 11,000 shares of the 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 completion of the transaction, the director now owns 9,624 shares in the company, valued at approximately $95,855.04. This represents a 53.34 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 0.68% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

About Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance

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.