Russell Investments Group Ltd. Grows Holdings in Blackbaud, Inc. (NASDAQ:BLKB)

Russell Investments Group Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Blackbaud, Inc. (NASDAQ:BLKB) by 1.2% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 81,873 shares of the technology company’s stock after buying an additional 982 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd.’s holdings in Blackbaud were worth $7,098,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Operose Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Blackbaud during the third quarter worth $25,000. GAMMA Investing LLC purchased a new position in Blackbaud during the 4th quarter valued at about $64,000. Gotham Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in Blackbaud by 8.0% during the 3rd quarter. Gotham Asset Management LLC now owns 4,248 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $299,000 after acquiring an additional 316 shares during the period. Glenmede Trust Co. NA purchased a new position in Blackbaud during the 3rd quarter valued at about $311,000. Finally, O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Blackbaud during the third quarter worth about $352,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.21% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently commented on BLKB shares. Robert W. Baird lowered their price objective 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. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Blackbaud from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, April 27th.

Insider Transactions at Blackbaud

In related news, CEO Michael P. Gianoni sold 25,354 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 owns 357,104 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $24,558,042.08. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other news, CFO Anthony W. Boor sold 4,955 shares of the business’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 owns 166,413 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,324,546.78. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Michael P. Gianoni sold 25,354 shares of the 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 completion of 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. In the last three months, insiders sold 59,897 shares of company stock valued at $4,377,015. Insiders own 1.89% of the company’s stock.

Blackbaud Price Performance

BLKB stock opened at $78.60 on Wednesday. Blackbaud, Inc. has a 1 year low of $64.32 and a 1 year high of $88.56. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 191.71 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.91, a current ratio of 0.67 and a quick ratio of 0.67. The business’s 50-day moving average is $74.37 and its two-hundred day moving average is $76.90.

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

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.