Norges Bank Makes New $22.79 Million Investment in AppFolio, Inc. $APPF

Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of AppFolio, Inc. (NASDAQ:APPF) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 97,976 shares of the software maker’s stock, valued at approximately $22,794,000.

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

AppFolio Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:APPF opened at $169.29 on Wednesday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $160.52 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $189.16. AppFolio, Inc. has a one year low of $142.73 and a one year high of $326.04. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.99 billion, a PE ratio of 40.31 and a beta of 0.80.

AppFolio (NASDAQ:APPF) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 23rd. The software maker reported $1.61 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.47 by $0.14. AppFolio had a net margin of 15.27% and a return on equity of 32.35%. The firm had revenue of $262.21 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $258.13 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.21 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 20.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts anticipate that AppFolio, Inc. will post 5.04 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently commented on APPF shares. Wall Street Zen raised AppFolio from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Sunday, March 15th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of AppFolio from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 26th. Benchmark boosted their price objective on shares of AppFolio from $222.00 to $226.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, April 24th. Piper Sandler cut their price objective on shares of AppFolio from $245.00 to $210.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 24th. Finally, UBS Group set a $210.00 price objective on shares of AppFolio in a research report on Friday, April 24th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, AppFolio currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $252.29.

Insider Activity

In other AppFolio news, insider Elizabeth Erin Barat sold 1,978 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $158.12, for a total transaction of $312,761.36. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 21,545 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,406,695.40. The trade was a 8.41% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, CEO William Shane Trigg sold 3,584 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $152.50, for a total transaction of $546,560.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 76,547 shares in the company, valued at $11,673,417.50. This trade represents a 4.47% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders own 1.57% of the company’s stock.

AppFolio 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.