Maryland State Retirement & Pension System Cuts Position in Apollo Global Management, Inc. (NYSE:APO)

Maryland State Retirement & Pension System reduced its stake in shares of Apollo Global Management, Inc. (NYSE:APO) by 5.9% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 28,113 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 1,762 shares during the period. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System’s holdings in Apollo Global Management were worth $4,643,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Hopwood Financial Services Inc. purchased a new stake in Apollo Global Management during the fourth quarter worth about $33,000. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Apollo Global Management during the 4th quarter worth approximately $34,000. Byrne Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Apollo Global Management in the 4th quarter worth approximately $37,000. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC purchased a new position in Apollo Global Management in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Finally, HM Payson & Co. acquired a new position in Apollo Global Management during the fourth quarter worth $45,000. 77.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on APO. BMO Capital Markets raised 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. StockNews.com cut shares of Apollo Global Management from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on shares of Apollo Global Management from $191.00 to $187.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. TD Cowen raised their price objective on shares of Apollo Global Management from $178.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Finally, Barclays upped their target price on Apollo Global Management from $174.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, December 9th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $165.74.

Apollo Global Management Trading Up 4.3 %

Shares of APO stock opened at $143.38 on Thursday. Apollo Global Management, Inc. has a 1-year low of $95.11 and a 1-year high of $189.49. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $154.89 and its 200-day simple moving average is $151.59. The firm has a market cap of $81.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.61, a PEG ratio of 1.17 and a beta of 1.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 1.44 and a quick ratio of 1.44.

Apollo Global Management Cuts Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th were issued a $0.4625 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 18th. This represents a $1.85 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.29%. Apollo Global Management’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 25.31%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Martin Kelly sold 5,000 shares of Apollo Global Management stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $158.28, for a total value of $791,400.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 377,164 shares in the company, valued at approximately $59,697,517.92. This trade represents a 1.31 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 8.50% 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, 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.