Blackbaud, Inc. (NASDAQ:BLKB) CEO Sells $835,384.27 in Stock

Blackbaud, Inc. (NASDAQ:BLKB) CEO Michael P. Gianoni sold 9,479 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $88.13, for a total transaction of $835,384.27. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 344,079 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $30,323,682.27. This represents a 2.68 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink.

Blackbaud Stock Performance

BLKB traded up $0.49 on Monday, reaching $87.47. The company had a trading volume of 354,879 shares, compared to its average volume of 232,959. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $83.59 and a 200-day moving average price of $80.12. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.44 billion, a PE ratio of 86.15 and a beta of 1.03. Blackbaud, Inc. has a 1 year low of $66.47 and a 1 year high of $88.95. The company has a quick ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 0.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.79.

Blackbaud (NASDAQ:BLKB) last posted 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 firm had revenue of $286.70 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 company posted $0.65 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts forecast that Blackbaud, Inc. will post 2.6 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Blackbaud declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback plan on Tuesday, July 30th that authorizes the company to repurchase $800.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the technology company to buy up to 18.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

BLKB has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Robert W. Baird lowered Blackbaud from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their price target for the company from $92.00 to $80.00 in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Evercore ISI raised shares of Blackbaud to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Raymond James lowered their price target on shares of Blackbaud from $98.00 to $95.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, October 7th. Baird R W lowered shares of Blackbaud from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price 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. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $86.67.

Institutional Trading of Blackbaud

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its holdings in shares of Blackbaud by 2.8% in the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 388,009 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $28,768,000 after acquiring an additional 10,555 shares in the last quarter. Kennedy Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Blackbaud by 1,107.5% during the 1st quarter. Kennedy Capital Management LLC now owns 33,908 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $2,514,000 after buying an additional 31,100 shares in the last quarter. Great Lakes Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Blackbaud in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $4,262,000. Ancora Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Blackbaud in the first quarter valued at approximately $2,081,000. Finally, Kestrel Investment Management Corp acquired a new position in Blackbaud during the second quarter worth $4,795,000. 94.21% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.