Blackbaud (NASDAQ:BLKB) Upgraded to “Buy” at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Blackbaud (NASDAQ:BLKB) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research note published on Wednesday morning.

Separately, Robert W. Baird decreased their price target on shares of Blackbaud from $95.00 to $88.00 and set an outperform rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 14th.

Blackbaud Price Performance

Blackbaud has a 1 year low of $64.32 and a 1 year high of $88.56. The company has a quick ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.91. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 191.71 and a beta of 1.01. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $74.37 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $76.90.

Blackbaud (NASDAQ:BLKB) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 13th. The technology company reported $1.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.05 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $295.01 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $299.04 million. Blackbaud had a return on equity of 16.66% and a net margin of 1.94%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.28 EPS. Research analysts expect that Blackbaud will post 2.3 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Blackbaud

In other news, CEO Michael P. Gianoni sold 5,360 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $74.05, for a total value of $396,908.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 413,114 shares in the company, valued at $30,591,091.70. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other news, CEO Michael P. Gianoni sold 5,360 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $74.05, for a total value of $396,908.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 413,114 shares in the company, valued at $30,591,091.70. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, COO Kevin P. Gregoire sold 3,000 shares of Blackbaud stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $74.00, for a total value of $222,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 133,641 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,889,434. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 59,897 shares of company stock worth $4,377,015. Corporate insiders own 1.89% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Blackbaud by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,574,584 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $483,316,000 after purchasing an additional 23,727 shares during the last quarter. Morgan Stanley grew its position in Blackbaud by 1.7% in the third quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 4,280,633 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $301,014,000 after acquiring an additional 72,071 shares during the period. Hawk Ridge Capital Management LP increased its stake in Blackbaud by 15.6% during the third quarter. Hawk Ridge Capital Management LP now owns 1,484,580 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $104,396,000 after acquiring an additional 200,000 shares during the last quarter. Geneva Capital Management LLC raised its position in Blackbaud by 12.7% in the first quarter. Geneva Capital Management LLC now owns 1,195,891 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $88,663,000 after purchasing an additional 135,103 shares during the period. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in shares of Blackbaud by 2.5% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,028,181 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $89,145,000 after purchasing an additional 24,910 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.21% of the company’s stock.

About Blackbaud

Blackbaud, Inc provides cloud software solutions to nonprofits, foundations, education institutions, and healthcare organizations in the United States and internationally. The company offers fundraising and engagement solutions, such as Blackbaud Raiser's Edge NXT, Blackbaud CRM, Blackbaud eTapestry, Blackbaud Luminate Online, Blackbaud TeamRaiser, JustGiving, Blackbaud Fundraiser Performance Management, Blackbaud Guided Fundraising, and Blackbaud Altru; and financial management solutions comprising Blackbaud Financial Edge NXT, Blackbaud Tuition Management, and Blackbaud Financial Aid and Billing Management.