AlphaQuest LLC Has $1.17 Million Holdings in BlackRock $BLK

AlphaQuest LLC boosted its stake in BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) by 239.2% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,116 shares of the asset manager’s stock after purchasing an additional 787 shares during the quarter. AlphaQuest LLC’s holdings in BlackRock were worth $1,171,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Securian Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in BlackRock during the first quarter worth about $7,331,000. Prudent Man Advisors LLC acquired a new position in BlackRock during the first quarter worth about $2,018,000. Allianz SE raised its stake in BlackRock by 2.6% during the first quarter. Allianz SE now owns 11,025 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $10,435,000 after acquiring an additional 277 shares in the last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System acquired a new position in BlackRock during the first quarter worth about $40,868,000. Finally, Weil Company Inc. raised its stake in BlackRock by 194.6% during the first quarter. Weil Company Inc. now owns 2,074 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $1,963,000 after acquiring an additional 1,370 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.69% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have commented on BLK shares. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on BlackRock from $1,362.00 to $1,486.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 15th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $1,320.00 price target on BlackRock and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 15th. Telsey Advisory Group restated an “outperform” rating on shares of BlackRock in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. Cowen restated a “buy” rating on shares of BlackRock in a report on Wednesday, October 15th. Finally, BNP Paribas Exane boosted their price target on BlackRock from $1,160.00 to $1,265.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 9th. Seventeen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $1,299.29.

Insider Activity at BlackRock

In related news, Director Rachel Lord sold 12,000 shares of the company’s 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 value of $13,980,480.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 7,205 shares in the company, valued at $8,394,113.20. This represents a 62.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director J. Richard Kushel sold 17,142 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,120.50, for a total value of $19,207,611.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 61,369 shares in the company, valued at $68,763,964.50. The trade was a 21.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 1.98% of the company’s stock.

BlackRock Stock Performance

Shares of BLK stock opened at $1,138.60 on Friday. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $1,139.57 and its 200 day simple moving average is $1,053.41. BlackRock has a one year low of $773.74 and a one year high of $1,219.94. The stock has a market capitalization of $176.31 billion, a PE ratio of 29.28, a PEG ratio of 1.97 and a beta of 1.45. 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 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). BlackRock had a net margin of 26.64% and a return on equity of 15.36%. The company had revenue of $6.51 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.22 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $11.46 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 25.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts forecast that BlackRock will post 47.41 earnings per share for the current year.

About BlackRock

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.