Principal Financial Group Inc. Decreases Stake in Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance, Inc. (NYSE:ARI)

Principal Financial Group Inc. trimmed its holdings in shares of Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance, Inc. (NYSE:ARI) by 7.0% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 601,074 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 45,235 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned 0.44% of Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance worth $5,524,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of ARI. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its holdings in Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance by 1.9% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,074,796 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $10,522,000 after purchasing an additional 19,611 shares during the last quarter. Luxor Capital Group LP bought a new stake in shares of Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance in the second quarter worth $7,342,000. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance by 1.1% in the third quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC now owns 578,210 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $5,314,000 after acquiring an additional 6,200 shares in the last quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance by 72.0% during the 3rd quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 468,335 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $4,304,000 after acquiring an additional 196,122 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cetera Investment Advisers grew its holdings in Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance by 5.8% during the 2nd quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 330,228 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $3,233,000 after acquiring an additional 18,150 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 54.43% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ARI has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. UBS Group cut their target price on shares of Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance from $10.00 to $9.50 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance from $9.50 to $8.50 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and five have issued a hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $9.63.

Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance Stock Down 1.1 %

NYSE:ARI opened at $8.66 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 46.13, a quick ratio of 46.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $9.06 and a 200-day moving average of $9.62. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.20 billion, a PE ratio of -9.41 and a beta of 1.75. Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance, Inc. has a 52 week low of $8.52 and a 52 week high of $12.00.

Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be given a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 11.55%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 31st. Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance’s dividend payout ratio is presently -108.70%.

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.