Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. Increases Stake in BlackRock $BLK

Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) by 0.7% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 22,220 shares of the asset manager’s stock after purchasing an additional 159 shares during the quarter. Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in BlackRock were worth $23,314,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of BLK. Royal Bank of Canada raised its position in shares of BlackRock by 73.2% in the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 1,313,350 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $1,243,059,000 after purchasing an additional 555,098 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of BlackRock by 2.9% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 13,764,072 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $13,027,419,000 after purchasing an additional 387,466 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its position in shares of BlackRock by 32.8% in the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 1,131,919 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $1,071,339,000 after purchasing an additional 279,336 shares during the last quarter. McElhenny Sheffield Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of BlackRock in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $231,000. Finally, Unisphere Establishment raised its position in shares of BlackRock by 29.2% in the 1st quarter. Unisphere Establishment now owns 839,500 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $794,570,000 after purchasing an additional 189,500 shares during the last quarter. 80.69% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at BlackRock

In other news, Director Rachel Lord sold 12,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,165.04, for a total transaction of $13,980,480.00. Following the sale, the director owned 7,205 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,394,113.20. This trade represents a 62.48% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 1.98% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on shares of BlackRock from $1,180.00 to $1,170.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 16th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on shares of BlackRock from $1,163.00 to $1,312.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 3rd. Barclays increased their price target on shares of BlackRock from $1,310.00 to $1,360.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 15th. Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of BlackRock in a report on Wednesday, October 15th. Finally, Argus increased their price target on shares of BlackRock from $1,165.00 to $1,330.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 15th. Seventeen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $1,299.29.

BlackRock Price Performance

Shares of NYSE BLK opened at $1,096.92 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $169.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.21, a PEG ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 1.45. BlackRock has a 12 month low of $773.74 and a 12 month high of $1,219.94. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $1,138.25 and its 200-day simple moving average is $1,059.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a current ratio of 4.04 and a quick ratio of 4.04.

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

BlackRock Company 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.