Principal Financial Group Inc. Buys 483,369 Shares of Apollo Global Management, Inc. (NYSE:APO)

Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Apollo Global Management, Inc. (NYSE:APO) by 813.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 542,780 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 483,369 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned approximately 0.10% of Apollo Global Management worth $89,646,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Byrne Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Apollo Global Management during the fourth quarter worth $37,000. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC bought a new stake in shares of Apollo Global Management during the fourth quarter worth $39,000. UMB Bank n.a. grew its stake in shares of Apollo Global Management by 447.1% during the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 279 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $46,000 after buying an additional 228 shares during the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its stake in shares of Apollo Global Management by 203.6% during the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 501 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $83,000 after buying an additional 336 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Y.D. More Investments Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Apollo Global Management in the fourth quarter worth $89,000. Institutional investors own 77.06% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Martin Kelly sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $172.61, for a total transaction of $863,050.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Leon D. Black sold 58,200 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $173.37, for a total transaction of $10,090,134.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 35,104,773 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,086,114,495.01. This represents a 0.17 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 201,600 shares of company stock valued at $34,977,528. Corporate insiders own 8.50% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently weighed in on the stock. UBS Group raised shares of Apollo Global Management to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. TD Cowen boosted 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. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price objective on shares of Apollo Global Management from $196.00 to $194.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of Apollo Global Management from $162.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on shares of Apollo Global Management from $191.00 to $187.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. One 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’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Apollo Global Management currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $165.74.

Apollo Global Management Trading Down 0.5 %

Shares of APO stock opened at $161.97 on Wednesday. Apollo Global Management, Inc. has a 52-week low of $95.11 and a 52-week high of $189.49. 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 company has a 50-day simple moving average of $167.19 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $147.01. The company has a market capitalization of $91.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.16, a PEG ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 1.63.

Apollo Global Management Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 28th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be given a $0.4625 dividend. This represents a $1.85 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.14%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 18th. Apollo Global Management’s payout ratio is 25.31%.

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.