Polen Capital Management LLC Has $2.67 Million Stake in BlackLine (NASDAQ:BL)

Key Points

• Polen Capital Management LLC reduced its stake in BlackLine by 12.3% in Q1, owning 55,099 shares valued at approximately $2.67 million after selling 7,692 shares.
• Analysts have varied opinions on BlackLine, with target prices ranging from $43 to $68; the average rating is classified as "Hold."
• BlackLine's recent earnings report showed a net margin of 13.05% with revenue of $172.03 million, exceeding analyst expectations.

Polen Capital Management LLC trimmed its position in BlackLine (NASDAQ:BL - Free Report) by 12.3% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 55,099 shares of the technology company's stock after selling 7,692 shares during the quarter. Polen Capital Management LLC owned 0.09% of BlackLine worth $2,668,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. LPL Financial LLC grew its position in BlackLine by 88.5% in the fourth quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 17,248 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $1,048,000 after acquiring an additional 8,100 shares during the period. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in BlackLine in the fourth quarter valued at $290,000. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its position in BlackLine by 22.1% in the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 22,007 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $1,337,000 after acquiring an additional 3,987 shares during the period. Wells Fargo & Company MN grew its position in BlackLine by 62.9% in the fourth quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 96,597 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $5,869,000 after acquiring an additional 37,285 shares during the period. Finally, Envestnet Asset Management Inc. grew its position in BlackLine by 16.8% in the fourth quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 149,369 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $9,076,000 after acquiring an additional 21,459 shares during the period. 95.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

BL has been the topic of several research analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on BlackLine from $60.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a report on Wednesday. Truist Financial increased their target price on BlackLine from $45.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on BlackLine from $65.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday. DA Davidson initiated coverage on BlackLine in a report on Wednesday. They set a "neutral" rating and a $56.00 target price on the stock. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their target price on BlackLine from $51.00 to $43.00 and set a "sell" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $61.08.

BlackLine Price Performance

Shares of BL opened at $48.35 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.64, a quick ratio of 1.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.61. BlackLine has a 1 year low of $40.82 and a 1 year high of $66.25. The stock has a market cap of $3.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.66 and a beta of 0.91. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $55.66 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $52.90.

BlackLine (NASDAQ:BL - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, August 5th. The technology company reported $0.51 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.50 by $0.01. BlackLine had a return on equity of 15.95% and a net margin of 13.05%. The firm had revenue of $172.03 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $170.87 million. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.58 earnings per share. The company's revenue was up 7.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts predict that BlackLine will post 0.9 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at BlackLine

In other news, CAO Michelle D. Stalick sold 795 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.14, for a total transaction of $43,836.30. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 25,235 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,391,457.90. This trade represents a 3.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CRO Mark Woodhams sold 1,856 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $54.65, for a total value of $101,430.40. Following the sale, the executive directly owned 61,390 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,354,963.50. This represents a 2.93% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 8.60% of the company's stock.

About BlackLine

BlackLine, Inc operates a cloud-based software platform which is designed to transform accounting and finance operations for organizations of all types and sizes. Its scalable platform supports critical accounting processes such as the financial close, account reconciliations, intercompany accounting, and controls assurance.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.