Principal Financial Group Inc. Cuts Stake in AppLovin Co. (NASDAQ:APP)

Principal Financial Group Inc. lessened its holdings in AppLovin Co. (NASDAQ:APP) by 63.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 59,106 shares of the company’s stock after selling 104,613 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in AppLovin were worth $19,140,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of AppLovin in the 3rd quarter valued at about $281,000. Private Advisor Group LLC raised its holdings in AppLovin by 58.0% in the third quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 11,291 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,474,000 after acquiring an additional 4,147 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in AppLovin in the third quarter worth approximately $56,410,000. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. grew its holdings in AppLovin by 1.2% during the 3rd quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 13,627 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,741,000 after acquiring an additional 157 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Forsta AP Fonden increased its position in shares of AppLovin by 100.0% in the 3rd quarter. Forsta AP Fonden now owns 92,000 shares of the company’s stock valued at $12,011,000 after purchasing an additional 46,000 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 41.85% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of AppLovin in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Loop Capital upped their price target on AppLovin from $450.00 to $650.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 20th. Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of AppLovin from $460.00 to $600.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Oppenheimer restated an “outperform” rating and set a $560.00 price objective (up previously from $480.00) on shares of AppLovin in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of AppLovin from $325.00 to $475.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $442.18.

AppLovin Stock Performance

Shares of APP stock opened at $410.45 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.70, a quick ratio of 2.41 and a current ratio of 2.41. The stock has a market cap of $137.74 billion, a PE ratio of 90.41, a P/E/G ratio of 3.28 and a beta of 2.30. AppLovin Co. has a 1 year low of $57.40 and a 1 year high of $525.15. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $366.92 and a 200 day moving average price of $248.07.

AppLovin (NASDAQ:APP) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 12th. The company reported $1.73 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.12 by $0.61. AppLovin had a net margin of 33.54% and a return on equity of 188.55%. Sell-side analysts forecast that AppLovin Co. will post 6.87 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at AppLovin

In other AppLovin news, CEO Arash Adam Foroughi sold 1,676 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $356.39, for a total value of $597,309.64. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 3,058,635 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,090,066,927.65. This represents a 0.05 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Herald Y. Chen sold 99,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $329.50, for a total transaction of $32,620,500.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 621,209 shares in the company, valued at $204,688,365.50. This represents a 13.75 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 255,372 shares of company stock valued at $92,519,099 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 14.69% of the company’s stock.

About AppLovin

AppLovin Corporation engages in building a software-based platform for advertisers to enhance the marketing and monetization of their content in the United States and internationally. It operates through two segments, Software Platform and Apps. The company's software solutions include AppDiscovery, a marketing software solution, which matches advertiser demand with publisher supply through auctions; MAX, an in-app bidding software that optimizes the value of a publisher's advertising inventory by running a real-time competitive auction; Adjust, a measurement and analytics marketing platform that provides marketers with the visibility, insights, and tools needed to grow their apps from early stage to maturity; and Wurl, a connected TV platform, which distributes streaming video for content companies and provides advertising and publishing solutions through its AdPool, ContentDiscovery, and Global FAST Pass products.