First Trust Advisors LP Increases Position in Blackbaud, Inc. (NASDAQ:BLKB)

First Trust Advisors LP raised its stake in shares of Blackbaud, Inc. (NASDAQ:BLKB - Free Report) by 28.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 356,243 shares of the technology company's stock after buying an additional 79,369 shares during the quarter. First Trust Advisors LP owned about 0.72% of Blackbaud worth $26,333,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Marshall Wace LLP grew its holdings in Blackbaud by 12.8% during the 4th quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 4,971 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $367,000 after buying an additional 563 shares during the last quarter. Barclays PLC boosted its holdings in shares of Blackbaud by 16.1% during the fourth quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 93,554 shares of the technology company's stock worth $6,916,000 after purchasing an additional 12,997 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Blackbaud during the fourth quarter worth $6,546,000. Martingale Asset Management L P boosted its holdings in shares of Blackbaud by 4.0% during the fourth quarter. Martingale Asset Management L P now owns 33,276 shares of the technology company's stock worth $2,460,000 after purchasing an additional 1,277 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Blackbaud by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 71,288 shares of the technology company's stock worth $5,270,000 after purchasing an additional 745 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.21% of the company's stock.

Blackbaud Trading Up 0.3 %

Blackbaud stock traded up $0.21 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $64.06. The stock had a trading volume of 293,118 shares, compared to its average volume of 235,492. Blackbaud, Inc. has a twelve month low of $58.05 and a twelve month high of $88.95. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.11 billion, a PE ratio of -10.86 and a beta of 1.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 7.40, a quick ratio of 0.68 and a current ratio of 0.78. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $63.42 and its 200 day simple moving average is $74.04.

Blackbaud (NASDAQ:BLKB - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 18th. The technology company reported $0.58 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.08 by ($0.50). Blackbaud had a negative net margin of 24.83% and a positive return on equity of 26.30%. The firm had revenue of $302.23 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $303.41 million. Analysts expect that Blackbaud, Inc. will post 3.05 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, Robert W. Baird decreased their price objective on Blackbaud from $80.00 to $76.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $85.33.

Blackbaud 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.