First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. Raises Holdings in Apollo Global Management, Inc. (NYSE:APO)

First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. lifted its position in shares of Apollo Global Management, Inc. (NYSE:APO) by 32.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 3,984 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 969 shares during the period. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P.’s holdings in Apollo Global Management were worth $371,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in APO. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in Apollo Global Management by 3.9% in the third quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 35,215 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,161,000 after buying an additional 1,334 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in Apollo Global Management by 2.0% during the 3rd quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. now owns 95,478 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $8,570,000 after purchasing an additional 1,860 shares during the period. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. grew its position in Apollo Global Management by 20.5% during the 3rd quarter. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. now owns 6,874 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $617,000 after purchasing an additional 1,170 shares during the last quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank grew its position in Apollo Global Management by 10.0% during the 3rd quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 153,082 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $13,741,000 after purchasing an additional 13,885 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Strs Ohio acquired a new position in Apollo Global Management in the third quarter valued at $1,178,000. 77.06% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Apollo Global Management Stock Performance

NYSE APO opened at $111.48 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.54, a current ratio of 1.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34. The stock has a market cap of $63.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 1.61. Apollo Global Management, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $59.89 and a fifty-two week high of $117.15. The business has a fifty day moving average of $111.12 and a 200-day moving average of $100.34.

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

Apollo Global Management Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 17th will be paid a $0.463 dividend. This is a boost from Apollo Global Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.43. This represents a $1.85 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.66%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 16th. Apollo Global Management’s payout ratio is presently 19.05%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently commented on APO. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on shares of Apollo Global Management from $122.00 to $131.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 7th. Barclays lowered their price target 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. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of Apollo Global Management from $94.00 to $99.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 24th. Evercore ISI upped their target price on shares of Apollo Global Management from $120.00 to $128.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday. Finally, JMP Securities reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Apollo Global Management in a research report on Tuesday, April 9th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Apollo Global Management has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $114.31.

Insider Buying and Selling at Apollo Global Management

In other news, CFO Martin Kelly sold 14,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $109.09, for a total transaction of $1,527,260.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 366,572 shares in the company, valued at $39,989,339.48. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, CFO Martin Kelly sold 14,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $109.09, for a total transaction of $1,527,260.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 366,572 shares in the company, valued at approximately $39,989,339.48. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Whitney Chatterjee sold 12,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $111.10, for a total transaction of $1,333,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly 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 worth $158,226,960. Insiders own 8.70% of the company’s stock.

Apollo Global Management Profile

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.