Westwood Holdings Group Inc. Buys 611,499 Shares of BlackLine (NASDAQ:BL)

Key Points

• Westwood Holdings Group Inc. increased its stake in BlackLine by 106.4%, now owning approximately 1.88% of the company, worth about $57.4 million after purchasing an additional 611,499 shares.
• In its latest quarterly report, BlackLine achieved $0.51 EPS, surpassing expectations of $0.50, with revenues reaching $172.03 million, which is an increase of 7.2% year-over-year.
• Institutional investors now own 95.13% of BlackLine's stock, indicating strong interest from fund managers in the company's performance and future prospects.

Westwood Holdings Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of BlackLine (NASDAQ:BL - Free Report) by 106.4% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,186,347 shares of the technology company's stock after buying an additional 611,499 shares during the quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. owned about 1.88% of BlackLine worth $57,443,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Topline Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of BlackLine during the fourth quarter worth $60,572,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in BlackLine in the 4th quarter worth about $23,770,000. Shannon River Fund Management LLC acquired a new stake in BlackLine during the 4th quarter worth about $19,827,000. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. lifted its stake in BlackLine by 365.6% during the fourth quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 405,801 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $24,656,000 after buying an additional 318,647 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ananym Capital Management LP acquired a new position in shares of BlackLine in the fourth quarter worth about $17,497,000. 95.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at BlackLine

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

BlackLine Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ BL traded down $2.15 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $48.35. The stock had a trading volume of 995,655 shares, compared to its average volume of 680,524. The company has a market cap of $3.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.48, a PEG ratio of 6.95 and a beta of 0.91. BlackLine has a twelve month low of $40.82 and a twelve month high of $66.25. The business's fifty day moving average is $55.66 and its two-hundred day moving average is $52.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.61, a current ratio of 1.64 and a quick ratio of 1.66.

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

BL has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Raymond James Financial upgraded shares of BlackLine from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $67.00 target price for the company in a research report on Tuesday, July 29th. Cantor Fitzgerald began coverage on shares of BlackLine in a research note on Tuesday, June 3rd. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $58.00 price target on the stock. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on BlackLine from $65.00 to $68.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on BlackLine from $60.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Truist Financial raised their price target on BlackLine from $45.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $61.08.

BlackLine Profile

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.