Fabrizio Freda Sells 4,434 Shares of BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) Stock

Key Points

• Fabrizio Freda, Director of BlackRock, sold 4,434 shares at an average price of $1,122.81, representing a 55.84% decrease in his position.
• BlackRock reported an earnings per share (EPS) of $12.05 for the last quarter, exceeding analyst expectations of $10.41.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $5.21 per share, with an ex-dividend date set for September 5th, contributing to an annualized dividend yield of 1.85%.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK - Get Free Report) Director Fabrizio Freda sold 4,434 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,122.81, for a total value of $4,978,539.54. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 3,506 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,936,571.86. This represents a 55.84% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link.

BlackRock Stock Performance

NYSE BLK traded up $5.11 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $1,123.48. The company had a trading volume of 516,296 shares, compared to its average volume of 672,644. BlackRock has a fifty-two week low of $773.74 and a fifty-two week high of $1,130.66. The company has a quick ratio of 4.34, a current ratio of 4.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $1,024.96 and a 200-day simple moving average of $975.79. The firm has a market cap of $174.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.26 and a beta of 1.41.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 15th. The asset manager reported $12.05 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $10.41 by $1.64. The company had revenue of $5.42 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.40 billion. BlackRock had a return on equity of 15.83% and a net margin of 29.68%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 12.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $10.36 earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that BlackRock will post 47.41 EPS for the current year.

BlackRock Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 23rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 5th will be issued a dividend of $5.21 per share. This represents a $20.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.85%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 5th. BlackRock's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 50.39%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

BLK has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on BlackRock from $959.00 to $1,210.00 in a report on Thursday, July 10th. UBS Group reiterated a "neutral" rating and set a $980.00 target price on shares of BlackRock in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Wall Street Zen upgraded BlackRock to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, May 24th. Barclays increased their target price on BlackRock from $990.00 to $1,220.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. Finally, Bank of America increased their target price on BlackRock from $1,214.00 to $1,224.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 16th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, BlackRock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $1,151.21.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of BLK. Fairway Wealth LLC increased its holdings in shares of BlackRock by 76.5% during the first quarter. Fairway Wealth LLC now owns 30 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 13 shares during the period. Game Plan Financial Advisors LLC boosted its stake in BlackRock by 100.0% during the first quarter. Game Plan Financial Advisors LLC now owns 30 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 15 shares in the last quarter. Garde Capital Inc. boosted its stake in BlackRock by 200.0% during the second quarter. Garde Capital Inc. now owns 27 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 18 shares in the last quarter. Investment Management Corp VA ADV acquired a new position in shares of BlackRock in the 4th quarter worth approximately $30,000. Finally, Cheviot Value Management LLC acquired a new stake in BlackRock during the first quarter valued at approximately $30,000. 80.69% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.

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