Blackbaud (NASDAQ:BLKB) Cut to “Hold” at StockNews.com

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

Separately, Robert W. Baird lowered their price objective on shares of Blackbaud from $95.00 to $88.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 14th.

Blackbaud Price Performance

Shares of BLKB opened at $76.71 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a current ratio of 0.78. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $72.59 and a 200 day simple moving average of $76.02. Blackbaud has a 52-week low of $64.32 and a 52-week high of $88.56. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.10 billion, a PE ratio of 2,557.00, a P/E/G ratio of 3.39 and a beta of 1.04.

Blackbaud (NASDAQ:BLKB) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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. Blackbaud had a net margin of 0.16% and a return on equity of 14.59%. The company had revenue of $295.01 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $299.04 million. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.28 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 7.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that Blackbaud will post 2.35 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Blackbaud news, CEO Michael P. Gianoni sold 25,354 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 20th. The shares were 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 directly owns 357,104 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $24,558,042.08. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other Blackbaud news, COO Kevin P. Gregoire sold 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $74.00, for a total transaction of $222,000.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 133,641 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,889,434. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Michael P. Gianoni sold 25,354 shares of the business’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 value of $1,743,594.58. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 357,104 shares in the company, valued at $24,558,042.08. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 59,897 shares of company stock worth $4,377,015. Insiders own 1.89% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Blackbaud

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio raised its stake in Blackbaud by 1.2% in the 3rd quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 93,391 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $6,567,000 after acquiring an additional 1,103 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. raised its stake in Blackbaud by 499.1% in the 3rd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 308,034 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $21,661,000 after acquiring an additional 256,619 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB raised its stake in Blackbaud by 16.2% in the 3rd quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 74,990 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $5,325,000 after acquiring an additional 10,473 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in Blackbaud by 1.3% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,550,857 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $390,336,000 after acquiring an additional 70,115 shares during the period. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised its stake in Blackbaud by 1.7% in the 3rd quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 4,280,633 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $301,014,000 after acquiring an additional 72,071 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 94.21% of the company’s stock.

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.