First National Advisers LLC Acquires New Stake in Blackbaud, Inc. (NASDAQ:BLKB)

Key Points

• First National Advisers LLC acquired 6,056 shares of Blackbaud, Inc. valued at approximately $376,000 during the first quarter, reflecting increased interest from institutional investors.
• Blackbaud reported an earnings per share (EPS) of $0.96 for the last quarter, exceeding analysts' expectations, despite a 3.1% decline in revenue compared to the previous year.
• Analysts have recently cut the price target for Blackbaud from $75.00 to $65.00, maintaining a "hold" rating as the stock's consensus rating remains "Hold" with an average target price of $78.67.

First National Advisers LLC purchased a new stake in Blackbaud, Inc. (NASDAQ:BLKB - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 6,056 shares of the technology company's stock, valued at approximately $376,000.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Versant Capital Management Inc increased its stake in Blackbaud by 127.4% in the 1st quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 523 shares of the technology company's stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 293 shares during the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. increased its position in shares of Blackbaud by 63.2% during the 1st quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 692 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $43,000 after purchasing an additional 268 shares during the last quarter. KBC Group NV increased its position in shares of Blackbaud by 31.8% during the 1st quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 2,209 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $137,000 after purchasing an additional 533 shares during the last quarter. Huntington National Bank increased its position in shares of Blackbaud by 13.9% during the 4th quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 1,864 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $138,000 after purchasing an additional 227 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its position in shares of Blackbaud by 31.8% during the 4th quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 2,069 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $154,000 after purchasing an additional 499 shares during the last quarter. 94.21% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Blackbaud

In other Blackbaud news, SVP Jon W. Olson sold 10,698 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $61.15, for a total value of $654,182.70. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 23,799 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,455,308.85. This trade represents a 31.01% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Chad Anderson sold 5,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $63.99, for a total value of $351,945.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 35,976 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,302,104.24. This represents a 13.26% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.97% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price objective on Blackbaud from $75.00 to $65.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Blackbaud currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $78.67.

Blackbaud Trading Down 4.4%

BLKB traded down $3.18 on Thursday, hitting $68.43. 409,961 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 290,229. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $63.61 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $66.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 35.64, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a current ratio of 0.73. Blackbaud, Inc. has a 12 month low of $58.05 and a 12 month high of $88.95. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.32 billion, a PE ratio of -11.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.80 and a beta of 1.14.

Blackbaud (NASDAQ:BLKB - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The technology company reported $1.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.05 by $0.16. Blackbaud had a positive return on equity of 38.58% and a negative net margin of 25.05%. The business had revenue of $281.38 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $276.48 million. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.08 EPS. Blackbaud's revenue for the quarter was down 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts expect that Blackbaud, Inc. will post 3.05 earnings per share for the current year.

Blackbaud 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.