Blackbaud, Inc. (NASDAQ:BLKB) Sees Significant Decrease in Short Interest

Blackbaud, Inc. (NASDAQ:BLKB - Get Free Report) was the target of a significant decrease in short interest in the month of March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totalling 630,200 shares, a decrease of 17.3% from the March 15th total of 761,600 shares. Approximately 1.5% of the company's shares are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 269,600 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.3 days.

Insider Activity

In other Blackbaud news, CEO Michael P. Gianoni sold 25,354 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $68.77, for a total transaction of $1,743,594.58. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 357,104 shares in the company, valued at $24,558,042.08. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other Blackbaud news, CEO Michael P. Gianoni sold 25,354 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $68.77, for a total value of $1,743,594.58. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 357,104 shares in the company, valued at $24,558,042.08. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Anthony W. Boor sold 429 shares of Blackbaud stock in a transaction on Monday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $74.00, for a total value of $31,746.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 161,368 shares of the company's stock, valued at $11,941,232. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 44,897 shares of company stock valued at $3,190,458. 1.89% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Blackbaud

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Morgan Stanley boosted its position in shares of Blackbaud by 865.3% in the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 3,970,062 shares of the technology company's stock worth $233,678,000 after purchasing an additional 3,558,788 shares in the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP grew its stake in shares of Blackbaud by 2,238.8% during the first quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 534,740 shares of the technology company's stock worth $32,015,000 after acquiring an additional 511,876 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Blackbaud during the fourth quarter valued at about $43,589,000. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Blackbaud by 7.4% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 4,916,663 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $294,361,000 after acquiring an additional 339,922 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado raised its position in shares of Blackbaud by 1,371.9% in the 4th quarter. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado now owns 340,098 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $29,486,000 after purchasing an additional 316,992 shares during the last quarter. 94.21% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Blackbaud Stock Up 1.0 %

Shares of NASDAQ:BLKB traded up $0.75 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $76.72. The company's stock had a trading volume of 351,566 shares, compared to its average volume of 263,375. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94, a current ratio of 0.78 and a quick ratio of 0.78. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $72.75 and its 200 day moving average price is $75.85. Blackbaud has a 52 week low of $64.32 and a 52 week high of $88.56. The company has a market capitalization of $4.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 2,557.33, a P/E/G ratio of 3.30 and a beta of 1.04.

Blackbaud (NASDAQ:BLKB - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 13th. The technology company reported $1.14 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.05 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $295.01 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $299.04 million. Blackbaud had a return on equity of 14.59% and a net margin of 0.16%. Blackbaud's revenue was up 7.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.28 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that Blackbaud will post 2.35 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

BLKB has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Robert W. Baird decreased their price target on shares of Blackbaud from $95.00 to $88.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 14th. StockNews.com upgraded Blackbaud from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday.

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.