USS Investment Management Ltd Lowers Stock Holdings in Apollo Global Management, Inc. (NYSE:APO)

USS Investment Management Ltd lowered its holdings in shares of Apollo Global Management, Inc. (NYSE:APO) by 8.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 66,955 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 6,382 shares during the quarter. USS Investment Management Ltd’s holdings in Apollo Global Management were worth $11,064,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of APO. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Apollo Global Management by 64.6% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 9,413,245 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,550,316,000 after purchasing an additional 3,695,979 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in Apollo Global Management by 8.9% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 45,135,384 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $7,454,560,000 after purchasing an additional 3,691,700 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its position in Apollo Global Management by 245.9% during the fourth quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 2,653,160 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $438,196,000 after purchasing an additional 1,886,146 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its position in Apollo Global Management by 36.9% during the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 6,452,004 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,065,615,000 after purchasing an additional 1,739,807 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp boosted its position in Apollo Global Management by 50.0% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 4,382,740 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $723,853,000 after purchasing an additional 1,460,689 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 77.06% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have issued reports on APO. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price target on Apollo Global Management from $196.00 to $194.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on Apollo Global Management from $170.00 to $131.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 14th. Cowen reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Apollo Global Management in a report on Monday, May 5th. UBS Group reduced their target price on Apollo Global Management from $170.00 to $155.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on Apollo Global Management from $177.00 to $139.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $157.89.

Apollo Global Management Stock Performance

Shares of APO stock opened at $139.19 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $79.41 billion, a PE ratio of 19.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.17 and a beta of 1.67. Apollo Global Management, Inc. has a 52-week low of $95.11 and a 52-week high of $189.49. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $133.29 and its 200 day moving average price is $152.49. The company has a quick ratio of 1.44, a current ratio of 1.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33.

Apollo Global Management (NYSE:APO) last released its earnings results on Friday, May 2nd. The financial services provider reported $1.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.84 by ($0.02). Apollo Global Management had a return on equity of 13.97% and a net margin of 17.53%. The business had revenue of $5.55 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $977.14 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.72 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 21.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Apollo Global Management, Inc. will post 8 EPS for the current year.

Apollo Global Management Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 16th will be paid a dividend of $0.51 per share. This is a positive change from Apollo Global Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.46. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 16th. This represents a $2.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.47%. Apollo Global Management’s payout ratio is 35.73%.

Insider Transactions at Apollo Global Management

In related news, insider Lb 2018 Gst Trust bought 607,725 shares of Apollo Global Management stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 4th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $111.39 per share, with a total value of $67,694,487.75. Following the purchase, the insider now owns 621,754 shares in the company, valued at $69,257,178.06. This represents a 4,331.92% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Leon D. Black sold 500,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $142.00, for a total value of $71,000,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 34,604,773 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,913,877,766. This trade represents a 1.42% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 8.20% of the company’s stock.

Apollo Global Management Company Profile

Apollo Global Management, Inc is a private equity firm specializing in investments in credit, private equity, infrastructure, secondaries and real estate markets. The firm prefers to invest in private and public 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, venture capital, turnaround, bridge, corporate restructuring, special situation, acquisition, and industry consolidation transactions.