Essex Financial Services Inc. Decreases Stock Position in Apollo Global Management, Inc. (NYSE:APO)

Essex Financial Services Inc. trimmed its holdings in Apollo Global Management, Inc. (NYSE:APO) by 31.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,611 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 1,213 shares during the period. Essex Financial Services Inc.’s holdings in Apollo Global Management were worth $243,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Perigon Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Apollo Global Management by 4.1% in the fourth quarter. Perigon Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,727 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $254,000 after acquiring an additional 107 shares during the last quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. raised its stake in Apollo Global Management by 23.4% in the 3rd quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 674 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $60,000 after purchasing an additional 128 shares during the last quarter. CWM LLC lifted its holdings in Apollo Global Management by 3.0% in the 4th quarter. CWM LLC now owns 5,727 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $534,000 after purchasing an additional 169 shares in the last quarter. Fulton Bank N.A. lifted its holdings in Apollo Global Management by 3.9% in the 4th quarter. Fulton Bank N.A. now owns 4,583 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $427,000 after purchasing an additional 170 shares in the last quarter. Finally, SVB Wealth LLC boosted its stake in shares of Apollo Global Management by 3.1% during the 3rd quarter. SVB Wealth LLC now owns 5,647 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $507,000 after purchasing an additional 171 shares during the last quarter. 77.06% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on APO shares. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on shares of Apollo Global Management from $111.00 to $122.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, April 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Apollo Global Management from $122.00 to $123.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 24th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on Apollo Global Management from $122.00 to $131.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, March 7th. Evercore ISI upped their target price on Apollo Global Management from $120.00 to $128.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price target on Apollo Global Management from $94.00 to $99.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 24th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $114.31.

Apollo Global Management Stock Performance

Apollo Global Management stock opened at $109.46 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $62.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 1.61. Apollo Global Management, Inc. has a 12 month low of $57.50 and a 12 month high of $117.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a current ratio of 1.54 and a quick ratio of 1.54. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $111.11 and its 200-day moving average is $99.97.

Apollo Global Management (NYSE:APO) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 8th. The financial services provider reported $1.75 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.64 by $0.11. The firm had revenue of $795.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $823.27 million. Apollo Global Management had a net margin of 16.27% and a return on equity of 20.77%. Equities analysts anticipate that Apollo Global Management, Inc. will post 7.43 earnings per share for the current year.

Apollo Global Management Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 31st. Investors of record on Friday, May 17th will be issued a dividend of $0.463 per share. This is a positive change from Apollo Global Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.43. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 16th. This represents a $1.85 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.69%. Apollo Global Management’s payout ratio is presently 19.05%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Apollo Global Management news, insider James C. Zelter sold 150,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 1,454,588 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $158,782,826.08. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, insider James C. Zelter sold 150,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider Whitney Chatterjee sold 12,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $111.10, for a total value of $1,333,200.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 123,901 shares in the company, valued at $13,765,401.10. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 1,426,000 shares of company stock valued at $158,226,960. Company insiders own 8.70% of the company’s stock.

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.