Lazard Asset Management LLC Acquires 4,742 Shares of Blackbaud, Inc. (NASDAQ:BLKB)

Lazard Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in Blackbaud, Inc. (NASDAQ:BLKB - Free Report) by 40.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 16,379 shares of the technology company's stock after acquiring an additional 4,742 shares during the period. Lazard Asset Management LLC's holdings in Blackbaud were worth $1,210,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vestcor Inc bought a new position in Blackbaud in the fourth quarter valued at about $75,000. KBC Group NV grew its position in Blackbaud by 33.9% in the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,676 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $124,000 after acquiring an additional 424 shares during the last quarter. Huntington National Bank grew its position in Blackbaud by 13.9% in the fourth quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 1,864 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $138,000 after acquiring an additional 227 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. grew its position in Blackbaud by 20.9% in the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,930 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $143,000 after acquiring an additional 333 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Blackbaud by 31.8% during the fourth quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 2,069 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $154,000 after purchasing an additional 499 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 94.21% of the company's stock.

Blackbaud Trading Down 0.9%

Shares of BLKB stock traded down $0.56 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $61.12. 137,842 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 240,635. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $62.39 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $71.34. Blackbaud, Inc. has a 1-year low of $58.05 and a 1-year high of $88.95. The company has a market cap of $2.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -10.36 and a beta of 1.16. The company has a quick ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 7.40.

Blackbaud (NASDAQ:BLKB - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The technology company reported $0.96 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.90 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $270.66 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $268.53 million. Blackbaud had a positive return on equity of 26.30% and a negative net margin of 24.83%. The business's revenue for the quarter was down 3.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.93 earnings per share. On average, research analysts anticipate that Blackbaud, Inc. will post 3.05 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently commented on BLKB. Robert W. Baird cut their price target on Blackbaud from $80.00 to $76.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price target on Blackbaud from $75.00 to $65.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $78.67.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Jon W. Olson sold 10,698 shares of Blackbaud stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $61.15, for a total value of $654,182.70. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 23,799 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,455,308.85. The trade was a 31.01% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Chad Anderson sold 5,500 shares of Blackbaud stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $63.99, for a total value of $351,945.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 35,976 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,302,104.24. This represents a 13.26% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.95% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.