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

Apollo Global Management, Inc. (NYSE:APO) saw unusually large options trading on Friday. Stock investors purchased 32,807 call options on the company. This represents an increase of 103% compared to the average daily volume of 16,148 call options.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of APO. Chicago Capital LLC lifted its position in shares of Apollo Global Management by 1.2% during the 3rd quarter. Chicago Capital LLC now owns 5,675 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $709,000 after buying an additional 69 shares in the last quarter. Menard Financial Group LLC raised its position in Apollo Global Management by 1.2% during the third quarter. Menard Financial Group LLC now owns 5,761 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $720,000 after acquiring an additional 71 shares during the period. Cyndeo Wealth Partners LLC raised its position in Apollo Global Management by 3.0% during the third quarter. Cyndeo Wealth Partners LLC now owns 2,687 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $336,000 after acquiring an additional 77 shares during the period. Sfmg LLC lifted its holdings in Apollo Global Management by 1.1% during the third quarter. Sfmg LLC now owns 7,220 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $902,000 after purchasing an additional 79 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cigna Investments Inc. New grew its position in shares of Apollo Global Management by 1.8% in the third quarter. Cigna Investments Inc. New now owns 5,166 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $645,000 after purchasing an additional 90 shares during the period. 77.06% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Apollo Global Management Stock Performance

Apollo Global Management stock traded up $0.89 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $166.81. 3,580,328 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,568,194. Apollo Global Management has a fifty-two week low of $95.11 and a fifty-two week high of $189.49. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $169.09 and its two-hundred day moving average is $139.35. 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 company has a market capitalization 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 company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 29th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 18th were issued a $0.463 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 18th. This is a positive change from Apollo Global Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.46. This represents a $1.85 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.11%. Apollo Global Management’s dividend payout ratio is currently 19.33%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently issued reports on APO shares. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on 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 lifted their price objective on Apollo Global Management from $174.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, December 9th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on shares of Apollo Global Management from $197.00 to $191.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on shares of Apollo Global Management in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $139.00 target price on the stock. Finally, TD Cowen increased their price objective 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. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $164.32.

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.