Principal Financial Group Inc. Buys 36,034 Shares of BlackLine $BL

Posted by Stanley Muller on Jul 25th, 2026

Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of BlackLine (NASDAQ:BL – Free Report) by 11.1% in the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 361,796 shares of the technology company’s stock after buying an additional 36,034 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in BlackLine were worth $13,386,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Measured Wealth Private Client Group LLC acquired a new stake in BlackLine in the 3rd quarter worth $25,000. Kestra Advisory Services LLC bought a new stake in shares of BlackLine in the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. Bayforest Capital Ltd bought a new stake in shares of BlackLine in the fourth quarter valued at about $40,000. Leonteq Securities AG grew its position in BlackLine by 1,019.6% during the first quarter. Leonteq Securities AG now owns 1,086 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $40,000 after buying an additional 989 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Global Retirement Partners LLC grew its position in BlackLine by 306.7% during the fourth quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 1,220 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $67,000 after buying an additional 920 shares in the last quarter. 95.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at BlackLine

In other BlackLine news, Director Mika Yamamoto sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, June 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $28.48, for a total transaction of $85,440.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 16,692 shares in the company, valued at $475,388.16. This represents a 15.23% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Gregory Hughes sold 1,637 shares of BlackLine stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $30.25, for a total value of $49,519.25. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 7,755 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $234,588.75. The trade was a 17.43% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 9.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have commented on BL. Weiss Ratings cut BlackLine from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “sell (d)” rating in a report on Monday, July 13th. DA Davidson set a $30.00 price objective on BlackLine in a research report on Thursday, July 9th. Robert W. Baird set a $40.00 target price on BlackLine in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Citigroup reduced their target price on BlackLine from $60.00 to $53.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on shares of BlackLine from $34.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $41.83.

Get Our Latest Stock Analysis on BlackLine

BlackLine Stock Performance

NASDAQ:BL opened at $28.74 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.69 billion, a PE ratio of 66.84 and a beta of 0.66. The company has a quick ratio of 1.70, a current ratio of 1.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.18. BlackLine has a 12-month low of $24.70 and a 12-month high of $59.57. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $28.65 and a 200 day moving average price of $35.45.

BlackLine (NASDAQ:BL – Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 5th. The technology company reported $0.56 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.45 by $0.11. BlackLine had a return on equity of 18.86% and a net margin of 3.71%.The company had revenue of $183.16 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $181.00 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.49 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 9.7% on a year-over-year basis. BlackLine has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.420-2.530 EPS and its Q2 2026 guidance at 0.570-0.590 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that BlackLine will post 1.1 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

BlackLine Company Profile

(Free Report)

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.