Traders Buy Large Volume of Apollo Global Management Put Options (NYSE:APO)

Apollo Global Management Inc. (NYSE:APO) was the target of unusually large options trading activity on Monday. Traders bought 19,202 put options on the company. This is an increase of approximately 166% compared to the average daily volume of 7,212 put options.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have weighed in on APO shares. TD Cowen restated a “buy” rating on shares of Apollo Global Management in a research note on Thursday, August 6th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Apollo Global Management in a report on Thursday, May 7th. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on shares of Apollo Global Management from $165.00 to $164.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, July 21st. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Apollo Global Management from $132.00 to $157.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. Finally, Evercore reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Apollo Global Management in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Apollo Global Management currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $152.77.

Apollo Global Management Stock Down 3.0%

Shares of APO traded down $4.17 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $136.59. The company had a trading volume of 411,199 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,573,328. Apollo Global Management has a one year low of $99.56 and a one year high of $153.29. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $126.53 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $122.69. The company has a market capitalization of $80.66 billion, a PE ratio of 49.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.26 and a beta of 1.51. The company has a current ratio of 1.70, a quick ratio of 1.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34.

Apollo Global Management (NYSE:APO) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The financial services provider reported $2.11 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.16 by ($0.05). Apollo Global Management had a net margin of 5.22% and a return on equity of 14.01%. The firm had revenue of $5.57 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.65 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.92 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Apollo Global Management will post 8.12 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Apollo Global Management Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 31st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, August 19th will be paid a $0.5625 dividend. This represents a $2.25 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, August 19th. Apollo Global Management’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 82.42%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider John P. Zito sold 48,644 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $130.66, for a total value of $6,355,825.04. Following the transaction, the insider owned 3,063,696 shares in the company, valued at $400,302,519.36. This represents a 1.56% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Corporate insiders own 8.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Bamco Inc. NY acquired a new position in Apollo Global Management during the second quarter worth $13,002,000. Basswood Capital Management L.L.C. acquired a new position in shares of Apollo Global Management in the second quarter valued at approximately $2,998,000. Freestone Grove Partners LP purchased a new stake in Apollo Global Management during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $67,851,000. Caisse de depot et placement du Quebec purchased a new position in Apollo Global Management in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $935,000. Finally, Odyssean LLC acquired a new position in shares of Apollo Global Management in the second quarter worth $2,627,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 77.06% of the company’s stock.

Apollo Global Management Company Profile

Apollo Global Management, Inc (NYSE: APO) is a global alternative investment manager that specializes in private equity, credit and real assets. The firm originates, invests in and manages a broad set of strategies across distressed and opportunistic credit, direct lending, structured credit, buyouts and real estate. Apollo provides investment management and advisory services to institutional clients and individual investors through pooled funds, separate accounts and publicly listed investment vehicles.

Its private equity business pursues control and non-control investments across industries, often focusing on complex or distressed situations where operational improvement and capital solutions can create value.