Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance, Inc. (NYSE:ARI) Shares Sold by HighTower Advisors LLC

HighTower Advisors LLC cut its holdings in Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance, Inc. (NYSE:ARI) by 38.5% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 11,343 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 7,107 shares during the period. HighTower Advisors LLC’s holdings in Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance were worth $106,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ARI. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its position in Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance by 1.8% in the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 59,621 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $584,000 after purchasing an additional 1,039 shares during the period. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System grew its stake in shares of Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance by 1.7% in the second quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 65,800 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $644,000 after buying an additional 1,100 shares in the last quarter. PFG Investments LLC raised its holdings in shares of Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance by 2.9% in the 3rd quarter. PFG Investments LLC now owns 48,584 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $446,000 after buying an additional 1,352 shares during the period. QRG Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance by 2.2% during the 3rd quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 67,502 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $620,000 after acquiring an additional 1,456 shares in the last quarter. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company boosted its holdings in Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance by 3.0% during the 2nd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 70,256 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $688,000 after acquiring an additional 2,037 shares during the period. 54.43% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on ARI. UBS Group reduced their price target 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 report on Friday, November 15th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on shares of Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance from $9.50 to $8.50 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and four have issued a hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $9.63.

Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance Price Performance

Shares of ARI opened at $9.06 on Friday. 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’s 50 day moving average is $9.06 and its two-hundred day moving average is $9.66. Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance, Inc. has a twelve month low of $8.52 and a twelve month high of $12.72. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.25 billion, a PE ratio of -9.85 and a beta of 1.75.

Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be issued a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 11.04%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 31st. Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance’s dividend payout ratio is currently -108.70%.

About Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance

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.