Blackbaud, Inc. (NASDAQ:BLKB) Short Interest Down 8.6% in January

Blackbaud, Inc. (NASDAQ:BLKB) was the recipient of a significant drop in short interest during the month of January. As of January 31st, there was short interest totalling 559,200 shares, a drop of 8.6% from the January 15th total of 611,600 shares. Approximately 1.4% of the company’s stock are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 200,700 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.8 days.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Michael P. Gianoni sold 9,479 shares of Blackbaud stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $88.13, for a total value of $835,384.27. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 344,079 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $30,323,682.27. The trade was a 2.68 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Anthony W. Boor sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $84.85, for a total transaction of $848,500.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 140,262 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,901,230.70. This represents a 6.66 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 34,204 shares of company stock worth $2,909,997. Insiders own 1.95% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Blackbaud

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Xponance Inc. increased its stake in shares of Blackbaud by 2.4% in the 4th quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 5,638 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $417,000 after purchasing an additional 130 shares in the last quarter. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D grew its holdings in Blackbaud by 0.6% during the third quarter. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D now owns 24,152 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $2,045,000 after purchasing an additional 151 shares during the period. Heritage Family Offices LLP increased its position in Blackbaud by 5.9% in the fourth quarter. Heritage Family Offices LLP now owns 2,985 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $221,000 after buying an additional 166 shares in the last quarter. Huntington National Bank raised its stake in shares of Blackbaud by 13.9% in the fourth quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 1,864 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $138,000 after buying an additional 227 shares during the period. Finally, Brookstone Capital Management lifted its position in shares of Blackbaud by 3.7% during the 4th quarter. Brookstone Capital Management now owns 7,612 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $563,000 after buying an additional 275 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.21% of the company’s stock.

Blackbaud Stock Performance

Blackbaud stock traded down $0.91 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $79.88. 128,899 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 158,311. Blackbaud has a 12-month low of $66.47 and a 12-month high of $88.95. The business’s 50-day moving average is $77.03 and its 200-day moving average is $80.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.79, a current ratio of 0.68 and a quick ratio of 0.68. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.93 billion, a PE ratio of 78.31 and a beta of 1.08.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on BLKB. Robert W. Baird downgraded Blackbaud from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their price target for the company from $92.00 to $80.00 in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Baird R W downgraded shares of Blackbaud from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Blackbaud has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $86.67.

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.