Highland Capital Management LLC Purchases Shares of 4,497 Apollo Global Management, Inc. (NYSE:APO)

Highland Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Apollo Global Management, Inc. (NYSE:APO) in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund acquired 4,497 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $743,000.

Several other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC bought a new stake in Apollo Global Management in the fourth quarter valued at $39,000. UMB Bank n.a. grew its holdings in shares of Apollo Global Management by 447.1% in the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 279 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $46,000 after purchasing an additional 228 shares during the last quarter. Compagnie Lombard Odier SCmA acquired a new stake in shares of Apollo Global Management during the 3rd quarter worth about $35,000. Versant Capital Management Inc increased its position in shares of Apollo Global Management by 203.6% during the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 501 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $83,000 after purchasing an additional 336 shares in the last quarter. Finally, ORG Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in Apollo Global Management in the fourth quarter valued at about $97,000. 77.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Apollo Global Management

In other news, CFO Martin Kelly sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $172.61, for a total value of $863,050.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 320,564 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $55,332,552.04. This trade represents a 1.54 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Leon D. Black sold 133,400 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $174.16, for a total value of $23,232,944.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 35,471,373 shares in the company, valued at $6,177,694,321.68. The trade was a 0.37 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 196,600 shares of company stock valued at $34,186,128. Corporate insiders own 8.50% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

APO has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on shares of Apollo Global Management from $168.00 to $196.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, December 20th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on Apollo Global Management from $161.00 to $178.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. Evercore ISI increased their target price on Apollo Global Management from $150.00 to $174.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. UBS Group raised Apollo Global Management to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Apollo Global Management from $111.00 to $137.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $164.32.

Apollo Global Management Stock Down 0.4 %

NYSE:APO opened at $171.00 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $96.75 billion, a PE ratio of 17.87, a PEG ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 1.63. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $170.11 and a 200 day simple moving average of $143.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a quick ratio of 1.44 and a current ratio of 1.44. Apollo Global Management, Inc. has a 52-week low of $95.11 and a 52-week high of $189.49.

Apollo Global Management Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 29th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 18th were given a $0.463 dividend. This represents a $1.85 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.08%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 18th. This is a positive change from Apollo Global Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.46. Apollo Global Management’s payout ratio is currently 19.33%.

About Apollo Global Management

Apollo Global Management, Inc is a private equity firm specializing in investments in credit, private equity, infrastructure, secondaries and real estate markets. The firm prefers to invest in private and public 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, venture capital, turnaround, bridge, corporate restructuring, special situation, acquisition, and industry consolidation transactions.