Apollo Global Management, Inc. (NYSE:APO) Sees Significant Increase in Short Interest

Apollo Global Management, Inc. (NYSE:APO) saw a large growth in short interest during the month of December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totalling 36,720,000 shares, a growth of 20.7% from the December 15th total of 30,420,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 5,210,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 7.0 days.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

APO has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of Apollo Global Management from $162.00 to $170.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. StockNews.com downgraded Apollo Global Management from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. 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 research report on Wednesday, November 6th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on Apollo Global Management from $157.00 to $186.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, Piper Sandler raised their price objective on Apollo Global Management from $188.00 to $202.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and sixteen have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $164.32.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Apollo Global Management news, CFO Martin Kelly sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $172.61, for a total transaction of $863,050.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 320,564 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $55,332,552.04. This represents a 1.54 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Leon D. Black sold 58,200 shares of Apollo Global Management stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $173.37, for a total value of $10,090,134.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 35,104,773 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,086,114,495.01. This represents a 0.17 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 196,600 shares of company stock valued at $34,186,128 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 8.50% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Apollo Global Management

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in APO. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC bought a new position in Apollo Global Management during the 4th quarter valued at $39,000. UMB Bank n.a. raised its stake 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 valued at $46,000 after purchasing an additional 228 shares in the last quarter. Compagnie Lombard Odier SCmA bought a new position in shares of Apollo Global Management during the third quarter worth about $35,000. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its stake in Apollo Global Management by 203.6% in the fourth 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 bought a new stake in Apollo Global Management in the fourth quarter valued at about $97,000. Institutional investors own 77.06% of the company’s stock.

Apollo Global Management Stock Up 0.5 %

APO traded up $0.89 on Friday, reaching $166.81. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 3,580,328 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,727,088. Apollo Global Management has a 1 year low of $95.11 and a 1 year high of $189.49. The business’s 50 day moving average is $169.18 and its 200 day moving average is $139.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 1.44 and a quick ratio of 1.44. The stock has a market cap of $94.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.20 and a beta of 1.63.

Apollo Global Management Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 29th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 18th were paid a dividend of $0.463 per share. This is a boost from Apollo Global Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.46. This represents a $1.85 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.11%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 18th. Apollo Global Management’s dividend payout ratio is 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.