Franklin Resources Inc. Increases Stake in AppFolio, Inc. (NASDAQ:APPF)

Franklin Resources Inc. grew its position in AppFolio, Inc. (NASDAQ:APPF) by 31.2% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 228,655 shares of the software maker’s stock after buying an additional 54,386 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. owned approximately 0.63% of AppFolio worth $51,800,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Blue Trust Inc. raised its holdings in AppFolio by 85.7% in the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 117 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 54 shares during the last quarter. CWM LLC raised its stake in shares of AppFolio by 238.6% in the second quarter. CWM LLC now owns 149 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 105 shares during the last quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. lifted its holdings in shares of AppFolio by 688.9% during the second quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 213 shares of the software maker’s stock valued at $52,000 after purchasing an additional 186 shares in the last quarter. Quarry LP lifted its holdings in shares of AppFolio by 147.9% during the second quarter. Quarry LP now owns 238 shares of the software maker’s stock valued at $58,000 after purchasing an additional 142 shares in the last quarter. Finally, True Wealth Design LLC purchased a new stake in shares of AppFolio during the third quarter valued at $79,000. Institutional investors own 85.19% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, major shareholder Maurice J. Duca sold 2,700 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $234.05, for a total value of $631,935.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 14,716 shares in the company, valued at $3,444,279.80. The trade was a 15.50 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Matthew S. Mazza sold 700 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $255.50, for a total value of $178,850.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 27,566 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,043,113. This represents a 2.48 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 29,606 shares of company stock valued at $7,117,857. 5.24% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

AppFolio Price Performance

Shares of APPF stock opened at $261.51 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $9.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 72.84 and a beta of 0.86. AppFolio, Inc. has a 1 year low of $164.29 and a 1 year high of $274.56. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $232.46 and a 200-day moving average price of $233.25.

AppFolio (NASDAQ:APPF) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The software maker reported $1.29 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.03 by $0.26. AppFolio had a return on equity of 30.64% and a net margin of 17.26%. The business had revenue of $206.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $199.11 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.26 earnings per share. AppFolio’s revenue for the quarter was up 24.5% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that AppFolio, Inc. will post 3.23 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on APPF shares. StockNews.com cut shares of AppFolio from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 22nd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods downgraded shares of AppFolio from a “market perform” rating to an “underperform” rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $255.00 to $193.00 in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. Piper Sandler cut their target price on shares of AppFolio from $300.00 to $265.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Finally, KeyCorp decreased their target price on shares of AppFolio from $300.00 to $252.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 25th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $261.75.

AppFolio Company Profile

AppFolio, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, provides cloud business management solutions for the real estate industry in the United States. The company provides a cloud-based platform that enables users to automate and optimize common workflows; tools that assist with leasing, maintenance, and accounting; and other technology and services offered by third parties.