Apollo Global Management (NYSE:APO) Sets New 52-Week High on Analyst Upgrade

Apollo Global Management, Inc. (NYSE:APO) hit a new 52-week high on Tuesday after Barclays raised their price target on the stock from $122.00 to $133.00. Barclays currently has an overweight rating on the stock. Apollo Global Management traded as high as $117.15 and last traded at $115.80, with a volume of 104936 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $116.06.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently commented on the stock. TD Cowen assumed coverage on shares of Apollo Global Management in a research report on Thursday, January 4th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $115.00 price target on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on Apollo Global Management from $122.00 to $131.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 7th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Apollo Global Management from $110.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 9th. Citigroup lifted their price target on Apollo Global Management from $111.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 13th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on Apollo Global Management from $111.00 to $122.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, April 5th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $110.62.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider James C. Zelter sold 150,000 shares of Apollo Global Management stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $109.16, for a total transaction of $16,374,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 1,454,588 shares in the company, valued at approximately $158,782,826.08. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, insider Leon D. Black sold 500,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $111.44, for a total value of $55,720,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 44,104,773 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,915,035,903.12. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider James C. Zelter sold 150,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 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 sold a total of 1,426,000 shares of company stock worth $158,226,960 in the last three months. 8.70% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Apollo Global Management

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in APO. US Bancorp DE lifted its holdings in Apollo Global Management by 174.5% in the 1st quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 6,275 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $390,000 after purchasing an additional 3,989 shares during the last quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in Apollo Global Management in the 1st quarter worth approximately $1,112,000. Panagora Asset Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Apollo Global Management in the 1st quarter worth approximately $202,000. APG Asset Management N.V. acquired a new position in shares of Apollo Global Management during the first quarter worth approximately $457,000. Finally, Yousif Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Apollo Global Management during the first quarter worth approximately $511,000. 77.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Apollo Global Management Trading Up 2.1 %

The company has a market capitalization of $64.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 1.63. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $110.64 and a 200 day moving average price of $97.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a current ratio of 1.54 and a quick ratio of 1.54.

Apollo Global Management (NYSE:APO) last issued its quarterly 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 return on equity of 20.33% and a net margin of 15.86%. The company had revenue of $795.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $823.27 million. On average, equities analysts expect that Apollo Global Management, Inc. will post 7.51 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Apollo Global Management Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 29th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 20th were issued a dividend of $0.43 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 16th. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.51%. Apollo Global Management’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 20.45%.

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.