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

Lazard Asset Management LLC grew its position in Blackbaud, Inc. (NASDAQ:BLKB - Free Report) by 40.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 16,379 shares of the technology company's stock after purchasing 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 institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Blackbaud during the fourth quarter worth approximately $34,168,000. Penn Capital Management Company LLC acquired a new position in Blackbaud during the fourth quarter worth approximately $10,581,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its position in Blackbaud by 41.0% during the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 482,561 shares of the technology company's stock worth $35,671,000 after buying an additional 140,273 shares during the last quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund increased its position in Blackbaud by 63.5% during the fourth quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 282,250 shares of the technology company's stock worth $20,864,000 after buying an additional 109,630 shares during the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its position in Blackbaud by 44.3% during the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 325,637 shares of the technology company's stock worth $24,071,000 after buying an additional 100,003 shares during the last quarter. 94.21% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

BLKB has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price objective on Blackbaud from $75.00 to $65.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Robert W. Baird reduced their price objective on Blackbaud from $80.00 to $76.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $78.67.

Blackbaud Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:BLKB traded down $0.44 during trading on Thursday, reaching $61.68. 152,473 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 240,739. Blackbaud, Inc. has a 12 month low of $58.05 and a 12 month high of $88.95. The firm has a market cap of $2.99 billion, a PE ratio of -10.45 and a beta of 1.16. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $62.45 and a 200-day moving average price of $71.62. The company has a current ratio of 0.78, a quick ratio of 0.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 7.40.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Jon W. Olson sold 10,698 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, May 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $61.15, for a total transaction of $654,182.70. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 23,799 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,455,308.85. This trade represents a 31.01% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Chad Anderson sold 5,500 shares of Blackbaud stock in a transaction dated 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 of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,302,104.24. This trade 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 currently owned by company insiders.

Blackbaud Company Profile

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.