Quest Partners LLC Acquires 5,646 Shares of Blackbaud, Inc. (NASDAQ:BLKB)

Quest Partners LLC raised its holdings in Blackbaud, Inc. (NASDAQ:BLKB) by 1,322.2% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 6,073 shares of the technology company’s stock after buying an additional 5,646 shares during the period. Quest Partners LLC’s holdings in Blackbaud were worth $514,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in Blackbaud by 1.3% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,646,203 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $418,609,000 after buying an additional 71,619 shares in the last quarter. Kestrel Investment Management Corp bought a new stake in shares of Blackbaud in the 2nd quarter worth $4,795,000. Millennium Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Blackbaud by 2,240.8% in the second quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 63,411 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $4,830,000 after purchasing an additional 60,702 shares during the last quarter. Great Lakes Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Blackbaud during the second quarter valued at about $4,262,000. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC boosted its holdings in Blackbaud by 20.4% during the third quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 320,058 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $27,103,000 after purchasing an additional 54,138 shares during the last quarter. 94.21% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Blackbaud Stock Up 1.9 %

Shares of NASDAQ BLKB opened at $86.98 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.79, a current ratio of 0.68 and a quick ratio of 0.68. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.41 billion, a PE ratio of 85.28 and a beta of 1.03. Blackbaud, Inc. has a one year low of $66.47 and a one year high of $88.56. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $83.59 and its 200-day moving average price is $80.11.

Blackbaud (NASDAQ:BLKB) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The technology company reported $0.99 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.07 by ($0.08). The business had revenue of $286.70 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $293.74 million. Blackbaud had a net margin of 4.61% and a return on equity of 20.34%. Blackbaud’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.65 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Blackbaud, Inc. will post 2.6 EPS for the current year.

Blackbaud announced that its board has initiated a stock buyback 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 repurchase up to 18.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are generally a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity at Blackbaud

In related news, SVP Jon W. Olson sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $85.00, for a total transaction of $170,000.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 24,025 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,042,125. This represents a 7.68 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Michael P. Gianoni sold 800 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $83.15, for a total value of $66,520.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 373,293 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $31,039,312.95. This represents a 0.21 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 55,911 shares of company stock worth $4,686,054. 1.95% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have commented on BLKB. Robert W. Baird lowered shares of Blackbaud from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their price objective for the company from $92.00 to $80.00 in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on Blackbaud from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 26th. Raymond James cut their price objective on Blackbaud from $98.00 to $95.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, October 7th. Evercore ISI upgraded Blackbaud to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Finally, Baird R W downgraded shares of Blackbaud from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $86.67.

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.