Swiss National Bank Sells 6,100 Shares of Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance, Inc. (NYSE:ARI)

Swiss National Bank decreased its position in Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance, Inc. (NYSE:ARI) by 2.3% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 258,539 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 6,100 shares during the period. Swiss National Bank’s holdings in Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance were worth $2,239,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance by 9.4% in the 4th quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 25,746 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $223,000 after purchasing an additional 2,204 shares during the period. Inceptionr LLC increased its holdings in Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance by 114.1% in the fourth quarter. Inceptionr LLC now owns 23,018 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $199,000 after purchasing an additional 12,269 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $578,000. Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance by 21.4% during the 4th quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 252,609 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $2,188,000 after buying an additional 44,492 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance by 7.7% during the 4th 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 during the period. Institutional investors own 54.43% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance Stock Up 0.5 %

Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance stock opened at $9.84 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -10.36 and a beta of 1.74. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $9.63 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $9.28. Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance, Inc. has a 1-year low of $8.44 and a 1-year high of $11.20. The company has a current ratio of 51.19, a quick ratio of 51.19 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67.

Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance (NYSE:ARI) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 10th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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%. On average, equities research analysts predict that Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance, Inc. will post 0.63 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st will be given a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 10.16%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance’s payout ratio is currently -105.26%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance

In other Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance news, Director Carmencita N.M. Whonder sold 11,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $9.96, for a total value of $109,560.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 9,624 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $95,855.04. This represents a 53.34 % decrease in their position. The sale 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 stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $9.99, for a total transaction of $520,219.26. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now 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 position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.68% of the company’s stock.

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.