Kovack Advisors Inc. Boosts Stock Holdings in Apollo Global Management, Inc. (NYSE:APO)

Kovack Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Apollo Global Management, Inc. (NYSE:APO) by 6.3% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,920 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 174 shares during the period. Kovack Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Apollo Global Management were worth $328,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in Apollo Global Management by 1.9% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 41,038,114 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,824,342,000 after purchasing an additional 750,781 shares during the period. Capital International Investors raised its stake in shares of Apollo Global Management by 2.1% in the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 10,775,413 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,004,161,000 after acquiring an additional 218,566 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Apollo Global Management in the 4th quarter valued at $586,016,000. Putnam Investments LLC raised its stake in shares of Apollo Global Management by 2.8% in the 4th quarter. Putnam Investments LLC now owns 5,939,220 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $553,476,000 after acquiring an additional 164,400 shares during the period. Finally, TD Asset Management Inc raised its stake in shares of Apollo Global Management by 4,248.9% in the 4th quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 2,459,235 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $229,176,000 after acquiring an additional 2,402,686 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 77.06% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Apollo Global Management news, CFO Martin Kelly sold 30,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $111.29, for a total transaction of $3,338,700.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 359,445 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $40,002,634.05. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 8.50% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Apollo Global Management Price Performance

Shares of APO stock opened at $119.80 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $68.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.27, a P/E/G ratio of 0.99 and a beta of 1.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37, a current ratio of 1.60 and a quick ratio of 1.60. Apollo Global Management, Inc. has a 1-year low of $73.77 and a 1-year high of $120.80. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $114.93 and a two-hundred day moving average of $108.61.

Apollo Global Management (NYSE:APO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 2nd. The financial services provider reported $1.50 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.71 by ($0.21). The company had revenue of $839.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $827.33 million. Apollo Global Management had a return on equity of 19.12% and a net margin of 16.27%. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Apollo Global Management, Inc. will post 7.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Apollo Global Management Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 17th were issued a dividend of $0.463 per share. This is a positive change from Apollo Global Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.43. This represents a $1.85 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.55%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, May 16th. Apollo Global Management’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 20.49%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

APO has been the topic of a number of research reports. JMP Securities reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Apollo Global Management in a research note on Tuesday, April 9th. Barclays cut their target price on shares of Apollo Global Management from $133.00 to $131.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 3rd. Jefferies Financial Group cut their target price on shares of Apollo Global Management from $119.00 to $117.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 9th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on shares of Apollo Global Management from $122.00 to $131.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 7th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Apollo Global Management from $122.00 to $123.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 24th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Apollo Global Management currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $115.62.

About Apollo Global Management

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.