Insider Selling: Blackbaud, Inc. (NASDAQ:BLKB) CEO Sells $1,026,056.25 in Stock

Blackbaud, Inc. (NASDAQ:BLKB) CEO Michael P. Gianoni sold 12,325 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $83.25, for a total transaction of $1,026,056.25. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 389,539 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $32,429,121.75. The trade was a 3.07 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website.

Blackbaud Stock Up 2.8 %

BLKB stock traded up $2.35 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $85.37. The stock had a trading volume of 261,287 shares, compared to its average volume of 232,265. Blackbaud, Inc. has a 1-year low of $66.47 and a 1-year high of $88.56. The company has a fifty day moving average of $83.48 and a 200 day moving average of $80.02. The company has a current ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 0.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.79. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 81.39 and a beta of 1.03.

Blackbaud (NASDAQ:BLKB) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The technology company reported $0.99 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.07 by ($0.08). The business had revenue of $286.70 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $293.74 million. Blackbaud had a net margin of 4.61% and a return on equity of 20.34%. Blackbaud’s revenue was up 3.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.65 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that Blackbaud, Inc. will post 2.6 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Blackbaud declared that its board has approved a stock buyback program on Tuesday, July 30th that allows the company to buyback $800.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the technology company to repurchase up to 18.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are typically a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Blackbaud

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. TD Private Client Wealth LLC lifted its holdings in Blackbaud by 42.0% in the 3rd quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 1,174 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $99,000 after purchasing an additional 347 shares during the last quarter. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky boosted its holdings in shares of Blackbaud by 52.0% during the 3rd quarter. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky now owns 56,336 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $4,770,000 after buying an additional 19,270 shares during the period. M&T Bank Corp grew its stake in Blackbaud by 85.2% in the 3rd quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 25,193 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $2,133,000 after buying an additional 11,591 shares during the last quarter. Barclays PLC raised its holdings in Blackbaud by 170.4% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 80,557 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $6,821,000 after acquiring an additional 50,765 shares during the period. Finally, XTX Topco Ltd acquired a new position in Blackbaud during the 3rd quarter worth $573,000. 94.21% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently commented on BLKB. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on shares of Blackbaud from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 26th. Evercore ISI raised Blackbaud to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Raymond James dropped their price target on Blackbaud from $98.00 to $95.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, October 7th. Baird R W cut Blackbaud from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Robert W. Baird cut shares of Blackbaud from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $92.00 to $80.00 in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Blackbaud presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $86.67.

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.