Franklin Resources Inc. Buys 54,386 Shares of AppFolio, Inc. (NASDAQ:APPF)

Franklin Resources Inc. grew its stake in AppFolio, Inc. (NASDAQ:APPF - Free Report) by 31.2% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 228,655 shares of the software maker's stock after acquiring an additional 54,386 shares during the quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. owned 0.63% of AppFolio worth $51,800,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. State Street Corp increased its position in shares of AppFolio by 8.2% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 653,136 shares of the software maker's stock worth $153,748,000 after acquiring an additional 49,238 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of AppFolio by 8.6% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 413,032 shares of the software maker's stock valued at $97,252,000 after purchasing an additional 32,743 shares in the last quarter. DF Dent & Co. Inc. boosted its position in shares of AppFolio by 10.1% during the third quarter. DF Dent & Co. Inc. now owns 351,691 shares of the software maker's stock worth $82,788,000 after buying an additional 32,181 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its holdings in shares of AppFolio by 13.5% during the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 241,801 shares of the software maker's stock worth $59,137,000 after buying an additional 28,673 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Driehaus Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in AppFolio by 16.7% in the second quarter. Driehaus Capital Management LLC now owns 227,632 shares of the software maker's stock valued at $55,672,000 after acquiring an additional 32,633 shares during the last quarter. 85.19% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at AppFolio

In related news, major shareholder Maurice J. Duca sold 2,700 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on 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 owns 14,716 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,444,279.80. This trade represents a 15.50 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Matthew S. Mazza sold 700 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $255.50, for a total value of $178,850.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 27,566 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $7,043,113. This trade represents a 2.48 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 29,606 shares of company stock worth $7,117,857. Corporate insiders own 5.24% of the company's stock.

AppFolio Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ APPF traded down $10.16 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $251.35. 209,787 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 268,654. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 70.01 and a beta of 0.86. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $232.98 and its 200 day simple moving average is $233.38. AppFolio, Inc. has a 52 week low of $164.29 and a 52 week high of $274.56.

AppFolio (NASDAQ:APPF - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 in the prior year, the firm posted $0.26 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 24.5% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that AppFolio, Inc. will post 3.23 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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