Raymond James Financial Inc. Acquires New Stake in Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance, Inc. (NYSE:ARI)

Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance, Inc. (NYSE:ARI) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 66,746 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock, valued at approximately $578,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in ARI. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance by 327.1% in the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 3,045 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 2,332 shares in the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC acquired a new position in Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance during the 4th quarter worth approximately $93,000. CIBC Asset Management Inc purchased a new stake in shares of Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $112,000. EMC Capital Management grew its stake in shares of Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance by 272.1% during the fourth quarter. EMC Capital Management now owns 14,089 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $122,000 after purchasing an additional 10,303 shares in the last quarter. Finally, SVB Wealth LLC purchased a new position in Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance in the fourth quarter valued at $127,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 54.43% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. StockNews.com upgraded Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, February 15th. UBS Group boosted their target price on Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance from $9.00 to $10.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced 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. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $9.08.

Insider Activity at Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance

In other Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance news, CEO Stuart Rothstein sold 52,074 shares of the firm’s 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 385,928 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,855,420.72. This trade represents a 11.89 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Carmencita N.M. Whonder sold 11,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 in the company, valued at approximately $95,855.04. The trade was a 53.34 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.68% of the company’s stock.

Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance Stock Down 5.5 %

Shares of Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance stock opened at $8.73 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $1.21 billion, a P/E ratio of -9.19 and a beta of 1.41. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $9.67 and a two-hundred day moving average of $9.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a quick ratio of 51.19 and a current ratio of 51.19. Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance, Inc. has a one year low of $8.44 and a one year high of $11.20.

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

Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be issued a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 11.46%. Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance’s dividend payout ratio is presently -105.26%.

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.