Smithbridge Asset Management Inc. DE Reduces Position in Apollo Global Management, Inc. (NYSE:APO)

Smithbridge Asset Management Inc. DE lowered its stake in Apollo Global Management, Inc. (NYSE:APO) by 0.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 48,134 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 190 shares during the period. Smithbridge Asset Management Inc. DE’s holdings in Apollo Global Management were worth $4,486,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in Apollo Global Management by 87.8% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 37,374,072 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,316,818,000 after acquiring an additional 17,476,830 shares during the last quarter. Mariner LLC purchased a new position in shares of Apollo Global Management in the first quarter worth about $353,603,000. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Apollo Global Management during the fourth quarter worth about $332,126,000. State Street Corp boosted its position in Apollo Global Management by 91.1% in the first quarter. State Street Corp now owns 8,032,420 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $497,930,000 after buying an additional 3,829,740 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP acquired a new position in Apollo Global Management in the 1st quarter worth approximately $217,878,000. 77.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Apollo Global Management

In other Apollo Global Management news, insider James C. Zelter sold 150,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $109.16, for a total value of $16,374,000.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 1,454,588 shares in the company, valued at approximately $158,782,826.08. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other Apollo Global Management news, insider Whitney Chatterjee sold 12,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $111.10, for a total value of $1,333,200.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 123,901 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,765,401.10. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider James C. Zelter sold 150,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $109.16, for a total value of $16,374,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 1,454,588 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $158,782,826.08. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 1,426,000 shares of company stock valued at $158,226,960 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 8.70% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have commented on APO. Citigroup lifted their price objective on shares of Apollo Global Management from $111.00 to $125.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 13th. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Apollo Global Management from $118.00 to $122.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, February 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. began coverage on Apollo Global Management in a research note on Wednesday, February 28th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $122.00 price objective for the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on Apollo Global Management from $122.00 to $131.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, March 7th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Apollo Global Management from $94.00 to $99.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 24th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $107.92.

Apollo Global Management Price Performance

Apollo Global Management stock traded down $0.95 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $112.94. The company had a trading volume of 1,178,005 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,461,784. The firm has a market capitalization of $64.17 billion, a PE ratio of 13.54, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.95 and a beta of 1.64. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $107.52 and its 200 day simple moving average is $95.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a quick ratio of 1.54 and a current ratio of 1.54. Apollo Global Management, Inc. has a 1-year low of $57.50 and a 1-year high of $116.55.

Apollo Global Management (NYSE:APO) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 8th. The financial services provider reported $1.75 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.64 by $0.11. Apollo Global Management had a net margin of 15.86% and a return on equity of 20.33%. The business had revenue of $795.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $823.27 million. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Apollo Global Management, Inc. will post 7.48 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Apollo Global Management Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 29th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 20th were given a $0.43 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 16th. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.52%. Apollo Global Management’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 20.45%.

Apollo Global Management Profile

Apollo Global Management, Inc is a private equity firm specializing in investments in credit, private equity and real estate markets. The firm's private equity investments include traditional buyouts, recapitalization, distressed buyouts and debt investments in real estate, corporate partner buyouts, distressed asset, corporate carve-outs, middle market, growth capital, turnaround, bridge, corporate restructuring, special situation, acquisition, and industry consolidation transactions.