Smithbridge Asset Management Inc. DE Makes New $13.90 Million Investment in Apollo Global Management, Inc. (NYSE:APO)

Smithbridge Asset Management Inc. DE bought a new position in shares of Apollo Global Management, Inc. (NYSE:APO) during the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor bought 101,477 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $13,896,000. Apollo Global Management comprises approximately 2.6% of Smithbridge Asset Management Inc. DE’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 7th largest position.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Fourth Dimension Wealth LLC bought a new position in Apollo Global Management during the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Hopwood Financial Services Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Apollo Global Management in the fourth quarter valued at about $33,000. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC bought a new stake in shares of Apollo Global Management in the fourth quarter valued at about $34,000. HM Payson & Co. bought a new stake in shares of Apollo Global Management in the fourth quarter valued at about $45,000. Finally, Colonial Trust Co SC lifted its holdings in shares of Apollo Global Management by 29.2% in the fourth quarter. Colonial Trust Co SC now owns 350 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $58,000 after purchasing an additional 79 shares in the last quarter. 77.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Apollo Global Management news, insider Leon D. Black sold 500,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $142.00, for a total transaction of $71,000,000.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 34,604,773 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,913,877,766. The trade was a 1.42% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Lb 2018 Gst Trust bought 607,725 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 4th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $111.39 per share, for a total transaction of $67,694,487.75. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 621,754 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $69,257,178.06. The trade was a 4,331.92% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Company insiders own 8.50% of the company’s stock.

Apollo Global Management Price Performance

NYSE:APO opened at $138.15 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a quick ratio of 1.44 and a current ratio of 1.44. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $131.88 and its 200 day simple moving average is $149.04. The company has a market cap of $78.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.90, a P/E/G ratio of 1.17 and a beta of 1.59. Apollo Global Management, Inc. has a 52-week low of $95.11 and a 52-week high of $189.49.

Apollo Global Management (NYSE:APO) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, May 2nd. The financial services provider reported $1.82 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.84 by ($0.02). The business had revenue of $5.55 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $977.14 million. Apollo Global Management had a return on equity of 13.97% and a net margin of 17.53%. Apollo Global Management’s quarterly revenue was down 21.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.72 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Apollo Global Management, Inc. will post 8 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Apollo Global Management Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 16th were given a dividend of $0.51 per share. This represents a $2.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.48%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 16th. This is an increase from Apollo Global Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.46. Apollo Global Management’s payout ratio is 35.73%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently commented on APO. Citigroup cut their price target on Apollo Global Management from $191.00 to $138.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Cowen restated a “buy” rating on shares of Apollo Global Management in a report on Monday, May 5th. Barclays boosted their price target on Apollo Global Management from $145.00 to $156.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, May 5th. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on Apollo Global Management from $170.00 to $131.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 14th. Finally, Bank of America boosted their price target on Apollo Global Management from $186.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, April 4th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $159.00.

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.