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

Blackbaud (NASDAQ:BLKB) was upgraded by equities research analysts at StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report released on Saturday.

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

Blackbaud Trading Down 0.4 %

Blackbaud stock opened at $77.95 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.78, a current ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $73.00 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $76.47. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 2,598.33 and a beta of 1.04. Blackbaud has a 52-week low of $64.32 and a 52-week high of $88.56.

Blackbaud (NASDAQ:BLKB) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 13th. The technology company reported $1.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.05 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $295.01 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $299.04 million. Blackbaud had a net margin of 0.16% and a return on equity of 14.59%. Blackbaud’s revenue was up 7.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.28 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Blackbaud will post 2.35 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Blackbaud

In other news, CFO Anthony W. Boor sold 4,955 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $74.06, for a total value of $366,967.30. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 166,413 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,324,546.78. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, CFO Anthony W. Boor sold 4,955 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $74.06, for a total transaction of $366,967.30. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 166,413 shares in the company, valued at $12,324,546.78. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Michael P. Gianoni sold 25,354 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $68.77, for a total transaction of $1,743,594.58. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 357,104 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $24,558,042.08. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 59,897 shares of company stock valued at $4,377,015. Company insiders own 1.89% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Blackbaud

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in BLKB. SG Americas Securities LLC boosted its holdings in Blackbaud by 859.2% during the third quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 24,930 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $1,753,000 after buying an additional 22,331 shares in the last quarter. FSC Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Blackbaud in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $40,000. Redmond Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Blackbaud in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $1,890,000. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank lifted its position in shares of Blackbaud by 10.6% in the 3rd quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 8,915 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $627,000 after acquiring an additional 852 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lifted its position in shares of Blackbaud by 6.6% in the 3rd quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 273,064 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $19,202,000 after acquiring an additional 16,903 shares in the last quarter. 94.21% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Blackbaud Company Profile

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.