BlackRock $BLK Stock Position Lessened by Mutual Advisors LLC

Mutual Advisors LLC decreased its holdings in BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) by 8.9% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 3,017 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 293 shares during the quarter. Mutual Advisors LLC’s holdings in BlackRock were worth $3,389,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the business. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its holdings in shares of BlackRock by 23.1% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 1,575 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $1,615,000 after buying an additional 296 shares during the period. Bison Wealth LLC lifted its holdings in shares of BlackRock by 1.6% in the fourth quarter. Bison Wealth LLC now owns 1,052 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $1,078,000 after buying an additional 17 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in shares of BlackRock by 10.6% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 3,698 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $3,500,000 after buying an additional 355 shares during the period. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lifted its holdings in shares of BlackRock by 5.2% in the first quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 35,049 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $33,172,000 after buying an additional 1,740 shares during the period. Finally, Sowell Financial Services LLC acquired a new stake in shares of BlackRock in the first quarter valued at $772,000. Institutional investors own 80.69% of the company’s stock.

BlackRock Trading Up 0.6%

Shares of NYSE BLK opened at $1,201.37 on Thursday. BlackRock has a 12 month low of $773.74 and a 12 month high of $1,219.94. The company has a market cap of $186.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.89, a P/E/G ratio of 2.17 and a beta of 1.45. The company has a quick ratio of 4.04, a current ratio of 4.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $1,138.95 and a 200-day simple moving average of $1,039.23.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, October 14th. The asset manager reported $11.55 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $11.78 by ($0.23). The company had revenue of $6.51 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.22 billion. BlackRock had a net margin of 26.64% and a return on equity of 15.36%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 25.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $11.46 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that BlackRock will post 47.41 EPS for the current year.

BlackRock Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 23rd. Investors of record on Friday, September 5th were paid a $5.21 dividend. This represents a $20.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, September 5th. BlackRock’s dividend payout ratio is currently 50.39%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Laurence Fink sold 12,054 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,125.43, for a total value of $13,565,933.22. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 251,697 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $283,267,354.71. This represents a 4.57% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Rachel Lord sold 18,036 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,125.60, for a total value of $20,301,321.60. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 19,205 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $21,617,148. This represents a 48.43% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 66,494 shares of company stock valued at $74,694,573 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 1.98% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently weighed in on BLK shares. Bank of America upped their price objective on BlackRock from $1,394.00 to $1,456.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday. Telsey Advisory Group restated an “outperform” rating on shares of BlackRock in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. BNP Paribas Exane upped their price objective on BlackRock from $1,160.00 to $1,265.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 9th. Citigroup upped their price objective on BlackRock from $1,200.00 to $1,350.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, September 29th. Finally, Cowen reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of BlackRock in a report on Wednesday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have issued a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, BlackRock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $1,300.81.

BlackRock Profile

BlackRock, Inc is a publicly owned investment manager. The firm primarily provides its services to institutional, intermediary, and individual investors including corporate, public, union, and industry pension plans, insurance companies, third-party mutual funds, endowments, public institutions, governments, foundations, charities, sovereign wealth funds, corporations, official institutions, and banks.