Merit Financial Group LLC Invests $560,000 in AppFolio, Inc. (NASDAQ:APPF)

Merit Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in AppFolio, Inc. (NASDAQ:APPF - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 2,268 shares of the software maker's stock, valued at approximately $560,000.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its holdings in AppFolio by 85.7% in the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 117 shares of the software maker's stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 54 shares during the period. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. grew its position in AppFolio by 688.9% during the second quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 213 shares of the software maker's stock worth $52,000 after buying an additional 186 shares in the last quarter. Quarry LP increased its stake in AppFolio by 147.9% during the 2nd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 238 shares of the software maker's stock worth $58,000 after acquiring an additional 142 shares during the period. True Wealth Design LLC acquired a new position in AppFolio in the 3rd quarter valued at $79,000. Finally, Advisors Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in AppFolio by 56.6% in the 3rd quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 390 shares of the software maker's stock valued at $92,000 after acquiring an additional 141 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.19% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Matthew S. Mazza sold 700 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $255.50, for a total transaction of $178,850.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 27,566 shares in the company, valued at $7,043,113. This trade represents a 2.48 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, major shareholder Maurice J. Duca sold 1,059 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $229.10, for a total transaction of $242,616.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 9,388 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,150,790.80. The trade was a 10.14 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 23,768 shares of company stock worth $5,744,891 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 5.24% of the company's stock.

AppFolio Stock Down 4.1 %

Shares of NASDAQ:APPF traded down $10.61 during trading on Friday, hitting $250.03. 279,630 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 223,929. AppFolio, Inc. has a 1-year low of $172.98 and a 1-year high of $274.56. The company has a market capitalization of $9.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 69.65 and a beta of 0.87. The business's 50 day moving average is $252.13 and its 200-day moving average is $235.95.

AppFolio (NASDAQ:APPF - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The software maker reported $1.29 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.03 by $0.26. AppFolio had a return on equity of 30.64% and a net margin of 17.26%. The firm had revenue of $206.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $199.11 million. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.26 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 24.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that AppFolio, Inc. will post 3.2 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently commented on APPF shares. KeyCorp cut AppFolio from an "overweight" rating to a "sector weight" rating and set a $253.00 price target on the stock. in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut shares of AppFolio from a "market perform" rating to an "underperform" rating and dropped their target price for the company from $255.00 to $193.00 in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. Finally, Piper Sandler lowered shares of AppFolio from an "overweight" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $265.00 price target on the stock. in a research report on Monday, January 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $268.57.

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.