Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. Sells 1,178 Shares of AppLovin Co. (NASDAQ:APP)

Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. lessened its position in AppLovin Co. (NASDAQ:APP) by 65.2% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 628 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,178 shares during the period. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc.’s holdings in AppLovin were worth $203,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in APP. FMR LLC increased its stake in AppLovin by 622.8% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 7,893,237 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,030,462,000 after buying an additional 6,801,138 shares during the period. SVB Wealth LLC purchased a new position in AppLovin in the 4th quarter worth about $1,781,922,000. Baillie Gifford & Co. increased its stake in AppLovin by 5,421.4% in the 4th quarter. Baillie Gifford & Co. now owns 4,084,496 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,322,682,000 after buying an additional 4,010,520 shares during the period. Jennison Associates LLC purchased a new position in AppLovin in the 4th quarter worth about $414,462,000. Finally, WCM Investment Management LLC increased its stake in AppLovin by 10.5% in the 3rd quarter. WCM Investment Management LLC now owns 10,820,409 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,382,307,000 after buying an additional 1,029,009 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 41.85% of the company’s stock.

AppLovin Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ APP opened at $270.48 on Friday. 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 firm has a fifty day moving average of $363.84 and a 200 day moving average of $261.76. The firm has a market cap of $90.77 billion, a PE ratio of 59.58, a PEG ratio of 3.02 and a beta of 2.33. AppLovin Co. has a one year low of $59.30 and a one year high of $525.15.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other AppLovin news, Director Herald Y. Chen sold 99,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $329.50, for a total transaction of $32,620,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 621,209 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $204,688,365.50. This trade represents a 13.75 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Victoria Valenzuela sold 15,971 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $313.07, for a total transaction of $5,000,040.97. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 372,205 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $116,526,219.35. The trade was a 4.11 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 406,447 shares of company stock worth $140,537,281. Company insiders own 14.69% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

APP has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Citigroup raised their price target on shares of AppLovin from $460.00 to $600.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Arete Research raised shares of AppLovin to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised 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. Wells Fargo & Company set a $538.00 target price on shares of AppLovin and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, Oppenheimer reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $560.00 target price (up previously from $480.00) on shares of AppLovin in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating, fourteen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $452.29.

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.