Blackbaud (NASDAQ:BLKB) Rating Lowered to “Hold” at Baird R W

Blackbaud (NASDAQ:BLKB) was downgraded by equities researchers at Baird R W from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note issued on Thursday, Zacks.com reports.

Several other equities research analysts also recently commented on BLKB. Robert W. Baird downgraded shares of Blackbaud from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $92.00 to $80.00 in a report on Thursday. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on shares of Blackbaud from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, September 26th. Evercore ISI raised shares of Blackbaud to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Finally, Raymond James dropped their price objective on shares of Blackbaud from $98.00 to $95.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, October 7th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Blackbaud currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $86.67.

Blackbaud Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:BLKB opened at $75.51 on Thursday. The company’s 50-day moving average is $83.38 and its 200 day moving average is $79.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.73, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a current ratio of 0.80. The company has a market capitalization of $3.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 74.03 and a beta of 1.02. Blackbaud has a fifty-two week low of $64.74 and a fifty-two week high of $88.56.

Blackbaud (NASDAQ:BLKB) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The technology company reported $1.08 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.04 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $287.29 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $289.26 million. Blackbaud had a net margin of 3.64% and a return on equity of 18.54%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 6.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.49 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Blackbaud will post 2.45 earnings per share for the current year.

Blackbaud announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase program on Tuesday, July 30th that permits the company to repurchase $800.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the technology company to purchase up to 18.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are usually an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Transactions at Blackbaud

In other news, EVP David J. Benjamin sold 5,590 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $78.04, for a total value of $436,243.60. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 51,108 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,988,468.32. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, Director Sarah E. Nash sold 3,220 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $76.18, for a total value of $245,299.60. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 26,823 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,043,376.14. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP David J. Benjamin sold 5,590 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $78.04, for a total transaction of $436,243.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 51,108 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,988,468.32. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 55,409 shares of company stock valued at $4,483,193. 1.95% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. DT Investment Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Blackbaud in the second quarter worth approximately $33,000. Quest Partners LLC grew its position in Blackbaud by 2,950.0% during the second quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 427 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 413 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. grew its position in Blackbaud by 190.4% during the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,597 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $135,000 after acquiring an additional 1,047 shares during the last quarter. EntryPoint Capital LLC grew its position in Blackbaud by 447.8% during the first quarter. EntryPoint Capital LLC now owns 2,542 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $188,000 after acquiring an additional 2,078 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Legacy Capital Wealth Partners LLC bought a new position in Blackbaud during the second quarter valued at approximately $201,000. 94.21% of the stock is currently owned by 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.