BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK) Shares Purchased by Old Port Advisors

Old Port Advisors boosted its holdings in shares of BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK) by 6.7% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 368 shares of the asset manager’s stock after buying an additional 23 shares during the quarter. Old Port Advisors’ holdings in BlackRock were worth $307,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in BlackRock in the fourth quarter valued at $1,812,920,000. Capital World Investors boosted its holdings in BlackRock by 57.3% in the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 3,514,999 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $2,853,517,000 after purchasing an additional 1,279,952 shares in the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors increased its stake in BlackRock by 23.7% in the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 3,918,878 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $3,181,346,000 after purchasing an additional 749,654 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in BlackRock by 77,524.5% during the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 641,955 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $5,211,390,000 after purchasing an additional 641,128 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mayflower Financial Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of BlackRock by 24,171.5% during the 1st quarter. Mayflower Financial Advisors LLC now owns 416,014 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $346,831,000 after buying an additional 414,300 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.69% of the company’s stock.

BlackRock Stock Down 2.2 %

BlackRock stock traded down $19.33 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $846.02. 479,910 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 644,219. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a current ratio of 5.32 and a quick ratio of 5.32. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $802.82 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $798.08. The firm has a market cap of $125.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.50, a P/E/G ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 1.32. BlackRock, Inc. has a 1 year low of $596.18 and a 1 year high of $885.10.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 15th. The asset manager reported $10.36 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $9.96 by $0.40. BlackRock had a return on equity of 15.53% and a net margin of 32.36%. The firm had revenue of $4.81 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.85 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $9.28 earnings per share. BlackRock’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts predict that BlackRock, Inc. will post 41.23 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

BlackRock Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 23rd. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 9th will be issued a dividend of $5.10 per share. This represents a $20.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.41%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 9th. BlackRock’s dividend payout ratio is currently 51.84%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on BlackRock from $915.00 to $934.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 16th. Argus raised their target price on shares of BlackRock from $880.00 to $910.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 16th. TD Cowen reduced their price target on shares of BlackRock from $974.00 to $969.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, July 8th. Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of BlackRock from $920.00 to $930.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 16th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on shares of BlackRock from $1,025.00 to $1,013.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, July 11th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $872.29.

Insider Transactions at BlackRock

In related news, Director Mark Wiedman sold 27,000 shares of BlackRock stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $834.42, for a total value of $22,529,340.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 6,480 shares in the company, valued at $5,407,041.60. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, CEO Laurence Fink sold 30,978 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, May 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $807.29, for a total transaction of $25,008,229.62. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 383,168 shares in the company, valued at approximately $309,327,694.72. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Mark Wiedman sold 27,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $834.42, for a total transaction of $22,529,340.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 6,480 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,407,041.60. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 66,978 shares of company stock valued at $54,692,570. Insiders own 0.90% of the company’s stock.

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.