Insider Selling: Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance, Inc. (NYSE:ARI) Director Sells 15,000 Shares of Stock

Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance, Inc. (NYSE:ARI) Director Mark C. Biderman sold 15,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $10.00, for a total value of $150,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 60,625 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $606,250. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website.

Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance Stock Up 1.3 %

NYSE ARI traded up $0.13 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $10.13. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,256,227 shares, compared to its average volume of 803,724. Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance, Inc. has a 52 week low of $9.22 and a 52 week high of $12.74. The company has a market capitalization of $1.44 billion, a PE ratio of -12.97 and a beta of 1.69. The company has a current ratio of 52.35, a quick ratio of 67.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $10.90 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $11.00.

Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 28th were given a $0.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 27th. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 13.82%. Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance’s payout ratio is -179.49%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ARI. Hollencrest Capital Management lifted its position in shares of Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance by 100.0% during the 1st quarter. Hollencrest Capital Management now owns 10,000 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $111,000 after buying an additional 5,000 shares in the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets lifted its position in shares of Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance by 75.8% during the 1st quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 70,810 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $789,000 after buying an additional 30,540 shares in the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance by 11.1% during the 1st quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 789,761 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $8,798,000 after buying an additional 78,833 shares in the last quarter. Diversify Advisory Services LLC bought a new position in shares of Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance during the 1st quarter worth approximately $169,000. Finally, Private Advisor Group LLC lifted its position in shares of Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance by 73.2% during the 1st quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 39,901 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $444,000 after buying an additional 16,862 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 54.43% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently weighed in on ARI shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price objective on Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance from $11.00 to $10.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday. TheStreet upgraded Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance from a “d+” rating to a “c-” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance from $11.00 to $10.50 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. Finally, Bank of America downgraded Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating and set a $10.50 price objective for the company. in a report on Monday, March 4th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and four have issued a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $10.38.

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.