Principal Financial Group Inc. Increases Stock Position in AppFolio, Inc. $APPF

Key Points

• Principal Financial Group increased its stake in AppFolio by 20.9% in the first quarter, buying 259,933 additional shares and ending with 1.51 million shares worth about $237.7 million.
• AppFolio reported better-than-expected Q1 results, with EPS of $1.61 beating estimates and revenue of $262.21 million topping forecasts; revenue rose 20.7% year over year.
• Despite the solid earnings and mostly bullish analyst sentiment, APPF shares were down 3.0% in Wednesday trading, and analysts currently rate the stock a Moderate Buy with an average price target of $252.29.

Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of AppFolio, Inc. (NASDAQ:APPF - Free Report) by 20.9% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 1,505,882 shares of the software maker's stock after buying an additional 259,933 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned approximately 4.26% of AppFolio worth $237,665,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in APPF. Royal Bank of Canada grew its position in shares of AppFolio by 22.6% during the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 45,452 shares of the software maker's stock valued at $9,993,000 after acquiring an additional 8,367 shares during the period. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. grew its holdings in AppFolio by 23.5% in the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 384 shares of the software maker's stock valued at $84,000 after purchasing an additional 73 shares during the period. Millennium Management LLC grew its holdings in AppFolio by 237.7% in the first quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 18,055 shares of the software maker's stock valued at $3,970,000 after purchasing an additional 12,709 shares during the period. Jones Financial Companies Lllp increased its position in shares of AppFolio by 164.8% in the first quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 654 shares of the software maker's stock valued at $144,000 after buying an additional 407 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of AppFolio by 322.5% during the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 66,777 shares of the software maker's stock worth $14,684,000 after buying an additional 50,970 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.19% of the company's stock.

AppFolio Stock Down 3.0%

Shares of APPF opened at $174.46 on Wednesday. AppFolio, Inc. has a 52-week low of $142.56 and a 52-week high of $326.04. The stock has a market cap of $6.17 billion, a PE ratio of 41.54 and a beta of 0.79. The firm's fifty day moving average is $162.70 and its two-hundred day moving average is $177.01.

AppFolio (NASDAQ:APPF - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 23rd. The software maker reported $1.61 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.47 by $0.14. The business had revenue of $262.21 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $258.13 million. AppFolio had a net margin of 15.27% and a return on equity of 32.35%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 20.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.21 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts anticipate that AppFolio, Inc. will post 5.04 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Piper Sandler dropped their price target on shares of AppFolio from $245.00 to $210.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Benchmark upped their price objective on shares of AppFolio from $222.00 to $226.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, April 24th. UBS Group set a $210.00 price objective on shares of AppFolio in a report on Friday, April 24th. Weiss Ratings cut shares of AppFolio from a "hold (c)" rating to a "hold (c-)" rating in a research note on Thursday, June 11th. Finally, KeyCorp restated an "overweight" rating on shares of AppFolio in a research report on Monday, July 6th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $252.29.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO William Shane Trigg sold 3,584 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $152.50, for a total value of $546,560.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 76,547 shares in the company, valued at $11,673,417.50. This represents a 4.47% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Elizabeth Erin Barat sold 1,978 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $158.12, for a total value of $312,761.36. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 21,545 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,406,695.40. This represents a 8.41% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Insiders have sold 30,657 shares of company stock worth $5,310,740 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 1.57% of the company's stock.

AppFolio Company Profile

AppFolio, Inc is a Santa Barbara–based provider of cloud-based software solutions for the property management and legal industries. Founded in 2006 by former software executives, the company went public on the NASDAQ under the symbol APPF in 2015. Its original offering, AppFolio Property Manager, automates accounting, marketing, leasing, and maintenance functions for residential, commercial, student housing, and community association managers.

In 2019, AppFolio expanded its portfolio with the acquisition of MyCase, a web-based legal practice management platform for small to mid-size law firms.

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