Blackbaud (NASDAQ:BLKB) Upgraded at StockNews.com

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

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

Blackbaud Stock Down 0.4 %

Shares of BLKB opened at $77.95 on Friday. Blackbaud has a 52 week low of $64.32 and a 52 week high of $88.56. The firm has a market cap of $4.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 2,598.33 and a beta of 1.04. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $73.00 and its 200 day simple moving average is $76.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a current ratio of 0.78.

Blackbaud (NASDAQ:BLKB) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 13th. The technology company reported $1.14 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 business had revenue of $295.01 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $299.04 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.28 EPS. Blackbaud’s quarterly revenue was up 7.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts forecast that Blackbaud will post 2.35 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Blackbaud news, CEO Michael P. Gianoni sold 5,360 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, CFO Anthony W. Boor sold 3,100 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $79.48, for a total transaction of $246,388.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 158,268 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,579,140.64. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Michael P. Gianoni sold 5,360 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $74.05, for a total transaction of $396,908.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 413,114 shares in the company, valued at $30,591,091.70. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 59,897 shares of company stock worth $4,377,015. 1.89% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. SG Americas Securities LLC raised its position in Blackbaud by 859.2% in the third quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 24,930 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $1,753,000 after acquiring an additional 22,331 shares during the period. FSC Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Blackbaud in the third quarter worth about $40,000. Redmond Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in Blackbaud in the third quarter worth about $1,890,000. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank raised its position in Blackbaud by 10.6% in the third quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 8,915 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $627,000 after acquiring an additional 852 shares during the period. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its position in Blackbaud by 6.6% in the third quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 273,064 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $19,202,000 after acquiring an additional 16,903 shares during the period. 94.21% of the stock is 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.