BlackRock $BLK Shares Sold by Retirement Systems of Alabama

Retirement Systems of Alabama lessened its stake in shares of BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) by 0.1% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 31,249 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 36 shares during the period. Retirement Systems of Alabama’s holdings in BlackRock were worth $32,788,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in BLK. MeadowBrook Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of BlackRock during the second quarter worth $1,296,000. Assetmark Inc. raised its stake in BlackRock by 44.1% in the 2nd quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 23,851 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $25,025,000 after acquiring an additional 7,298 shares during the last quarter. Premier Path Wealth Partners LLC lifted its position in BlackRock by 3.0% during the 2nd quarter. Premier Path Wealth Partners LLC now owns 3,582 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $3,759,000 after acquiring an additional 104 shares during the period. World Investment Advisors grew its stake in BlackRock by 13.6% during the 2nd quarter. World Investment Advisors now owns 4,492 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $4,713,000 after purchasing an additional 537 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Daymark Wealth Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of BlackRock by 0.4% in the second quarter. Daymark Wealth Partners LLC now owns 9,207 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $9,660,000 after purchasing an additional 33 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.69% of the company’s stock.

BlackRock Price Performance

NYSE:BLK opened at $1,096.92 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 4.04, a current ratio of 4.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39. BlackRock has a 52 week low of $773.74 and a 52 week high of $1,219.94. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $1,138.25 and its 200-day moving average price is $1,059.80. The stock has a market capitalization of $169.86 billion, a PE ratio of 28.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 1.45.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 14th. The asset manager reported $11.55 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $11.78 by ($0.23). BlackRock had a return on equity of 15.36% and a net margin of 26.64%.The business had revenue of $6.51 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.22 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $11.46 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 25.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts expect that BlackRock will post 47.41 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently commented on BLK. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on BlackRock from $1,196.00 to $1,325.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 7th. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of BlackRock from $1,310.00 to $1,360.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 15th. Argus increased their price objective on shares of BlackRock from $1,165.00 to $1,330.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 15th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on shares of BlackRock from $1,180.00 to $1,170.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 16th. Finally, Zacks Research downgraded BlackRock from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 14th. Seventeen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $1,299.29.

Insider Buying and Selling at BlackRock

In other news, Director Rachel Lord sold 12,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,165.04, for a total transaction of $13,980,480.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 7,205 shares in the company, valued at $8,394,113.20. This trade represents a 62.48% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 1.98% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.