First Western Trust Bank Lowers Stock Holdings in BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK)

First Western Trust Bank cut its stake in shares of BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK) by 14.9% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 5,037 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 883 shares during the quarter. First Western Trust Bank’s holdings in BlackRock were worth $3,966,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of BlackRock by 2.3% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 13,182,262 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $10,990,052,000 after acquiring an additional 292,017 shares during the period. Capital Research Global Investors lifted its position in BlackRock by 11.1% in the first quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 4,354,236 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $3,630,127,000 after purchasing an additional 435,358 shares during the period. Capital World Investors lifted its position 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 during the period. Capital International Investors boosted its holdings in BlackRock by 2.4% in the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 2,471,621 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $2,006,490,000 after purchasing an additional 58,681 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new position in BlackRock during the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,812,920,000. 80.69% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

BlackRock Stock Performance

NYSE BLK opened at $875.92 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 5.06, a current ratio of 5.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37. The stock has a market cap of $130.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.97 and a beta of 1.32. BlackRock, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $596.18 and a fifty-two week high of $903.46. The business has a fifty day moving average of $846.98 and a 200-day moving average of $811.26.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) last announced its earnings results on Monday, July 15th. The asset manager reported $10.36 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $9.96 by $0.40. The firm had revenue of $4.81 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.85 billion. BlackRock had a net margin of 32.36% and a return on equity of 15.44%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $9.28 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that BlackRock, Inc. will post 41.34 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

BlackRock Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 23rd. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 9th will be paid a $5.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 9th. This represents a $20.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.33%. BlackRock’s payout ratio is currently 51.84%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price target on BlackRock from $912.00 to $937.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 15th. Citigroup upped their price target on shares of BlackRock from $920.00 to $930.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 16th. Argus raised their price objective on shares of BlackRock from $880.00 to $910.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 16th. Evercore ISI upped their target price on shares of BlackRock from $920.00 to $945.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday. Finally, UBS Group dropped their target price on shares of BlackRock from $842.00 to $837.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 10th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $883.13.

Insider Buying and Selling at BlackRock

In other news, Director Mark Wiedman sold 27,000 shares of BlackRock stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the director now owns 6,480 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,407,041.60. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, Director Mark Wiedman sold 27,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 in the company, valued at approximately $5,407,041.60. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Laurence Fink sold 29,450 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $843.25, for a total transaction of $24,833,712.50. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 353,718 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $298,272,703.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 93,042 shares of company stock worth $79,387,117. Insiders own 0.90% of the company’s stock.

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.