Sifting through countless of stocks in the Professional Services industry can be tedious, and sometimes two stocks are just too similar to judge which is the better investment. If you’re on the fence about investing in Paylocity Holding Corporation, Blackbaud or Inc. because you’re not sure how they measure up, it’s important to compare them on a few factors before making your decision.

Read on to learn how Paylocity Holding Corporation, Blackbaud and Inc. compare based on key financial metrics to determine which better meets your investment needs.

About Paylocity Holding Corporation, Blackbaud and Inc.

Paylocity Holding Corporation provides cloud-based human capital management, payroll software, and spend management solutions for the workforce in the United States. The company offers payroll solutions comprising payroll and tax services, global payroll, on-demand payment, and garnishments; human resources (HR) solutions consisting of human resources, employee self-service, workflows and documents, HR compliance dashboard, and HR edge; time and attendance, scheduling, and time collection; time and labor solutions, including time and attendance, scheduling, and time collection; and talent solutions, such as recruiting, onboarding, market pay, learning, performance, and compensation. It also provides benefits solutions comprising benefit enrollment and updates, and third-party administrative solutions; employee experiences consisting of community, video, employee voice, recognition and rewards, modern workforce index, data insights, and reporting; and Paylocity for finance solutions, such as headcount planning, expense management, accounts payable automation, corporate cards, and guided procurement. In addition, the company offers implementation and training, client services, and tax and regulatory services. It serves for-profit and non-profit organizations across industries, including business services, financial services, healthcare, manufacturing, restaurants, retail, technology, and others. The company also sells its products through sales representatives. Paylocity Holding Corporation was founded in 1997 and is headquartered in Schaumburg, Illinois.

Blackbaud, Inc. engages in the providing AI-powered solutions in the United States and internationally. The company offers fundraising and engagement solutions, including Blackbaud Raiser's Edge NXT, Blackbaud CRM, Blackbaud Luminate Online, Blackbaud TeamRaiser, JustGiving from Blackbaud, Blackbaud Fundraiser Performance Management, and Blackbaud Altru; financial management solutions, such as Blackbaud Financial Edge NXT, Blackbaud Purchase Cards, Blackbaud Tuition Management, Blackbaud Financial Aid Management, and Blackbaud Billing Management; and grant and award management solutions, which includes Blackbaud Grantmaking and Blackbaud Award Management. It also offers education solutions, including Blackbaud Student Information System, Blackbaud Learning Management System, Blackbaud Enrollment Management System, and Blackbaud School Website System; social responsibility, employee giving, and volunteering solutions, such as YourCause GrantsConnect and YourCause CSRconnect, and Blackbaud Impact Edge; and payment services, which includes Blackbaud Merchant Services. In addition, the company provides data intelligence solutions; professional and managed services, such as system implementation, data conversion, business process analysis and application customization, database merging and enrichment, database production activities, website design services, and outcome-based and prescriptive services; and training solutions. The company sells its solutions and related services through its direct sales force. Blackbaud, Inc. was founded in 1981 and is headquartered in Charleston, South Carolina.

Latest Professional Services and Paylocity Holding Corporation, Blackbaud, Inc. Stock News

As of July 31, 2026, Paylocity Holding Corporation had a $7.4 billion market capitalization, compared to the Professional Services median of $1.1 million. Paylocity Holding Corporation’s stock is down 9.6% in 2026, up 10.1% in the previous five trading days and down 26.03% in the past year.

Currently, Paylocity Holding Corporation’s price-earnings ratio is 29.5. Paylocity Holding Corporation’s trailing 12-month revenue is $1.7 billion with a 14.9% net profit margin. Year-over-year quarterly sales growth most recently was 10.5%. Analysts expect adjusted earnings to reach $8.087 per share for the current fiscal year. Paylocity Holding Corporation does not currently pay a dividend.

As of July 31, 2026, Blackbaud, Inc. had a $1.9 billion market cap, putting it in the 53rd percentile of all stocks. Blackbaud, Inc.’s stock is down 32.4% in 2026, up 30.8% in the previous five trading days and down 40.23% in the past year.

Currently, Blackbaud, Inc.’s price-earnings ratio is 13.3. Blackbaud, Inc.’s trailing 12-month revenue is $1.1 billion with a 13.1% net profit margin. Year-over-year quarterly sales growth most recently was 3.0%. Analysts expect adjusted earnings to reach $5.250 per share for the current fiscal year. Blackbaud, Inc. does not currently pay a dividend.

How We Compare Paylocity Holding Corporation, Blackbaud and Inc. Stock Grades

Stock evaluation requires access to huge amounts of data and the knowledge and time to sift through it all, make sense of financial ratios, read income statements and analyze recent stock movements. AAII created A+ Investor, a robust data suite that condenses data research in an actionable and customizable way suitable for investors of all knowledge levels, to help investors streamline and work through such data.

AAII’s proprietary stock grades come with A+ Investor. These offer intuitive A‐F grades for each of five key investing factors: value, growth, momentum, earnings estimate revisions and quality. Here, we’ll take a closer look at Paylocity Holding Corporation, Blackbaud and Inc.’s stock grades to see how they measure up against one another.

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Paylocity Holding Corporation, Blackbaud and Inc. Stock Value Grades

Company	Ticker	Value
Paylocity Holding Corporation	PCTY	D
Blackbaud, Inc.	BLKB	C

Successful stock investing involves buying low and selling high, so stock valuation is an important consideration for stock selection.

Buying stocks that are going to go up typically means buying stocks that are undervalued in the first place, although momentum investors may argue that point.

AAII’s A+ Investor Value Grade derives from a stock’s value score. The Value Score is the percentile rank of the average of the percentile ranks of the price-to-sales ratio, price-earnings ratio, enterprise-value-to-EBITDA (EV/EBITDA) ratio, shareholder yield, price-to-book-value ratio and price-to-free-cash-flow ratio. The score is variable, meaning it can consider all six ratios or, should any of the six ratios not be valid, the remaining ratios that are valid. To be assigned a Value Score, stocks must have a valid (non-null) ratio and corresponding ranking for at least two of the six valuation ratios.

Stocks with a Value Score from 81 to 100 are considered deep value, those with a score between 61 and 80 are a good value and so on.

Paylocity Holding Corporation has a Value Score of 30, which is Expensive. Blackbaud, Inc. has a Value Score of 60, which is Average.

The Value Stock Winner: No Clear Winner

Neither Paylocity Holding Corporation, Blackbaud or Inc. has a high enough value grade to be considered a “winner.” Investors who are considering these companies should do additional due diligence and research to see if either could be a good addition to their portfolio. It’s important to look at a wide range of financial metrics in order to determine if Paylocity Holding Corporation, Blackbaud or Inc. is the better investment when it comes to value.

Paylocity Holding Corporation, Blackbaud and Inc.’s Momentum Grades

Company	Ticker	Momentum
Paylocity Holding Corporation	PCTY	C
Blackbaud, Inc.	BLKB	D

Momentum grades help to uncover stocks experiencing anomalously high rates of return; research finds that stocks with high relative levels of momentum tend to outperform, whereas those with low levels of momentum tend to continue underperforming. Momentum is based on the price change of a stock over a specified period relative to all other stocks.

Typically, AAII looks at the weighted relative strength over the trailing four quarters. The weighted four-quarter relative strength rank is the relative price change for each of the past four quarters. The most recent quarterly price change is given a weight of 40% and each of the three previous quarters are given a weighting of 20%.

Paylocity Holding Corporation has a Momentum Score of 43, which is Average. Blackbaud, Inc. has a Momentum Score of 28, which is Weak.

The Momentum Stock Winner: No Clear Winner

Neither Paylocity Holding Corporation, Blackbaud or Inc. has a strong enough Momentum Grade to be considered a “winner.” Investors considering these companies should do additional due diligence and research to see if either could be a good addition to their portfolios. It’s important to look at a wide range of financial metrics in order to determine if Paylocity Holding Corporation, Blackbaud or Inc. is the better investment when it comes to momentum.

Paylocity Holding Corporation, Blackbaud and Inc.’s Estimate Revisions Grades

Company	Ticker	Earnings Estimate
Paylocity Holding Corporation	PCTY	C
Blackbaud, Inc.	BLKB	C

Earnings estimate revisions scores consider the magnitude of a company’s earnings surprise in its last two reported fiscal quarters. Often, positive surprises beget further positive surprises‐or at least continued sales growth (the exact opposite is generally true, too).

Estimate revisions offer an indication of what analysts are thinking about the short-term prospects of a firm. Estimate revisions are based on the statistical significance of a firm’s last two quarterly earnings surprises and the percentage change in its consensus estimate for the current fiscal year over the past month and past three months.

Paylocity Holding Corporation has a Earnings Estimate Score of 59, which is Neutral. Blackbaud, Inc. has a Earnings Estimate Score of 53, which is Neutral.

The Earnings Estimate Revisions Stock Winner: No Clear Winner

Neither Paylocity Holding Corporation, Blackbaud or Inc. has an Earnings Estimate Revisions Grade that could be considered a “winner.” Investors considering these companies should do additional due diligence and research to see if either could be a good addition to their portfolios. It’s important to look at a wide range of financial metrics in order to determine if Paylocity Holding Corporation, Blackbaud or Inc. is the better investment when it comes to estimate revisions.

Other Paylocity Holding Corporation, Blackbaud and Inc. Grades

In addition to Momentum, Value and Estimate Revisions, A+ Investor also provides grades for Growth and Quality.

Growth investing builds on the idea that stocks of companies exhibiting strong, consistent and prolonged growth outperform those of slower-growth companies. AAII measures growth through consistency of annual sales growth, five-year sales growth rankings adjusted for extreme levels, and consistency of positive annual cash from operations.

AAII’s A+ Investor Quality Grade comes from the ranking of key metrics. Specifically, the quality grade is the percentile rank of the composite of return on assets (ROA), return on invested capital (ROIC), gross profit relative to assets, buyback yield, change in total liabilities to assets, accruals, Z double prime bankruptcy risk (Z) score and F-Score.

These 2 key factors, when combined with the above, provide a holistic view into a particular stock. Further, by joining A+ Investor you can see whether Paylocity Holding Corporation, Blackbaud and Inc. pass any of our 60+ stock screens that have outperformed the market since their creation.

So, Which Is the Better Investment, Paylocity Holding Corporation, Blackbaud or Inc. Stock?

Overall, Paylocity Holding Corporation stock has a Value Score of 30, Momentum Score of 43 and Estimate Revisions Score of 59.

Blackbaud, Inc. stock has a Value Score of 60, Momentum Score of 28 and Estimate Revisions Score of 53.

Comparing Paylocity Holding Corporation, Blackbaud and Inc.’s grades, scores and metrics can act as a solid basis to determine whether they may be a good investment or not. You’ll also want to look at your portfolio’s asset allocation as well as your risk tolerance and financial goals to see if either of these stocks would make a good fit for you. AAII can help you figure out which investments align with your individual needs and preferences.

Investors are encouraged to do their own due diligence and research. In this way, individuals can effectively become managers of their own assets‐without having to rely on others for financial independence. You can count on AAII for timeless articles on financial planning and stock-picking, unbiased research and actionable analysis.

A+ Investor adds to our qualitative teaching with a powerful data suite to help you whittle down investment choices to find stocks, exchange-traded funds (ETFs) or mutual funds that meet your needs.

AAII Disclaimer

We make no representations or warranties that any investor will, or is likely to, achieve profits similar to those shown, because past, hypothetical or simulated performance is not necessarily indicative of future results. Before making an investment decision, you should consider your circumstances and whether the information on our content is applicable to your situation. This information was prepared in good faith, and we accept no liability for any errors or omissions. The full disclaimer can be read here.