Korea Investment CORP Buys 112,300 Shares of Apollo Global Management, Inc. (NYSE:APO)

Korea Investment CORP grew its stake in Apollo Global Management, Inc. (NYSE:APO) by 79.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 254,523 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 112,300 shares during the period. Korea Investment CORP’s holdings in Apollo Global Management were worth $42,037,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of APO. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in Apollo Global Management by 8.9% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 45,135,384 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $7,454,560,000 after buying an additional 3,691,700 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Apollo Global Management by 60.6% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,900,562 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $479,057,000 after acquiring an additional 1,094,464 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its stake in shares of Apollo Global Management by 42.1% during the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 2,640,758 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $436,148,000 after purchasing an additional 782,700 shares during the period. Proficio Capital Partners LLC raised its position in Apollo Global Management by 15,187.7% in the 4th quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 639,027 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $105,542,000 after purchasing an additional 634,847 shares during the period. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its stake in Apollo Global Management by 813.6% in the fourth quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 542,780 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $89,646,000 after purchasing an additional 483,369 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 77.06% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

APO has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Apollo Global Management from $169.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on shares of Apollo Global Management from $157.00 to $186.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Barclays upped their target price on shares of Apollo Global Management from $174.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, December 9th. TD Cowen lifted their price target on shares of Apollo Global Management from $178.00 to $230.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Finally, StockNews.com cut Apollo Global Management from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. One equities 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $165.21.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CFO Martin Kelly sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the chief financial officer now owns 377,164 shares in the company, valued at $59,697,517.92. This represents a 1.31 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Leon D. Black sold 500,000 shares of the firm’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 directly owns 34,604,773 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,913,877,766. This represents a 1.42 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 8.50% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Apollo Global Management Price Performance

Shares of APO opened at $142.18 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $153.07 and a two-hundred day moving average of $152.75. The company has a market cap of $81.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.17 and a beta of 1.66. The company has a quick ratio of 1.44, a current ratio of 1.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. Apollo Global Management, Inc. has a twelve month low of $95.11 and a twelve month high of $189.49.

Apollo Global Management Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 18th were paid a dividend of $0.4625 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 18th. This represents a $1.85 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.30%. Apollo Global Management’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 25.31%.

Apollo Global Management Company 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.