Dimensional Fund Advisors LP Purchases 181,577 Shares of BlackLine $BL

Key Points

• Dimensional Fund Advisors increased its BlackLine position by 20.6%, purchasing 181,577 shares to reach 1.06 million shares valued at approximately $39.4 million. Institutional investors collectively own 95.13% of the company.
• BlackLine reported quarterly EPS of $0.56, beating analysts’ $0.45 estimate, while revenue of $183.16 million exceeded expectations and rose 9.7% year over year.
• Analyst sentiment remains mixed, with a consensus “Hold” rating and an average price target of $41.83 versus the stock’s recent price near $32.78; two directors also recently sold shares.

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in shares of BlackLine (NASDAQ:BL - Free Report) by 20.6% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,063,655 shares of the technology company's stock after purchasing an additional 181,577 shares during the quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP owned 1.78% of BlackLine worth $39,354,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of BL. Parallel Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of BlackLine by 467.0% in the first quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 2,030 shares of the technology company's stock worth $75,000 after purchasing an additional 1,672 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of BlackLine by 11.1% during the 1st quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 361,796 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $13,386,000 after buying an additional 36,034 shares in the last quarter. Granite Investment Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of BlackLine by 3.3% during the 1st quarter. Granite Investment Partners LLC now owns 82,990 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $3,071,000 after buying an additional 2,626 shares in the last quarter. Leonteq Securities AG boosted its holdings in BlackLine by 1,019.6% in the 1st quarter. Leonteq Securities AG now owns 1,086 shares of the technology company's stock worth $40,000 after buying an additional 989 shares during the period. Finally, Pictet Asset Management Holding SA boosted its holdings in BlackLine by 12.0% in the 1st quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 8,651 shares of the technology company's stock worth $320,000 after buying an additional 930 shares during the period. 95.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

BlackLine Trading Up 4.4%

BL opened at $32.78 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.18, a quick ratio of 1.70 and a current ratio of 1.70. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $28.90 and its 200-day moving average price is $34.28. BlackLine has a one year low of $24.70 and a one year high of $59.57. The stock has a market cap of $1.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 76.23 and a beta of 0.64.

BlackLine (NASDAQ:BL - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The technology company reported $0.56 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.45 by $0.11. The firm had revenue of $183.16 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $181.00 million. BlackLine had a return on equity of 18.86% and a net margin of 3.71%.BlackLine's quarterly revenue was up 9.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.49 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that BlackLine will post 1.1 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Gregory Hughes sold 1,637 shares of BlackLine stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $30.25, for a total transaction of $49,519.25. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 7,755 shares in the company, valued at approximately $234,588.75. This trade represents a 17.43% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Mika Yamamoto sold 3,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, June 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $28.48, for a total transaction of $85,440.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 16,692 shares of the company's stock, valued at $475,388.16. This represents a 15.23% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Company insiders own 9.10% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. Bank of America started coverage on BlackLine in a research note on Tuesday, May 12th. They issued an "underperform" rating and a $26.00 price target for the company. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $50.00 price objective on shares of BlackLine in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Robert W. Baird set a $40.00 target price on BlackLine in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Piper Sandler increased their target price on BlackLine from $35.00 to $37.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Finally, Citigroup decreased their target price on BlackLine from $60.00 to $53.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $41.83.

BlackLine Profile

BlackLine, Inc is a leading provider of cloud-based software solutions designed to automate and modernize the finance and accounting function. The company's flagship offering, the BlackLine Finance Controls and Automation Platform, enables organizations to streamline critical processes such as account reconciliations, journal entry management, intercompany accounting, and transaction matching. By delivering a centralized, real-time view of financial data, BlackLine helps companies improve operational efficiency, enhance compliance and strengthen internal controls.

Key products and services within the BlackLine platform include Account Reconciliation, Task Management, Transaction Matching, Journal Entry, and Intercompany Hub.

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