ASR Vermogensbeheer N.V. Makes New Investment in BlackRock (NYSE:BLK)

Key Points

• ASR Vermogensbeheer N.V. acquired 12,881 shares of BlackRock, valued at approximately $12.19 million, indicating strong institutional interest in the firm.
• CEO Laurence Fink sold 14,828 shares at an average price of $1,122.28, reducing his ownership by 5.32%.
• Analysts have mixed ratings for BlackRock, with price targets ranging from $1,032 to $1,220, and a consensus average rating of "Moderate Buy".

ASR Vermogensbeheer N.V. acquired a new position in shares of BlackRock (NYSE:BLK - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund acquired 12,881 shares of the asset manager's stock, valued at approximately $12,191,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Brighton Jones LLC grew its position in shares of BlackRock by 23.1% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 1,575 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $1,615,000 after buying an additional 296 shares during the last quarter. Shelton Capital Management lifted its holdings in shares of BlackRock by 10.6% in the 4th quarter. Shelton Capital Management now owns 886 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $908,000 after purchasing an additional 85 shares during the last quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia boosted its position in shares of BlackRock by 272.0% in the 4th quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 73,237 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $75,076,000 after purchasing an additional 53,547 shares during the period. Advisory Services Network LLC grew its stake in BlackRock by 3.9% during the 4th quarter. Advisory Services Network LLC now owns 3,687 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $3,780,000 after buying an additional 140 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Azimuth Capital Investment Management LLC raised its position in BlackRock by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Azimuth Capital Investment Management LLC now owns 32,748 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $33,570,000 after purchasing an additional 280 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.69% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on BLK. Barclays boosted their target price on BlackRock from $990.00 to $1,220.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, July 10th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on BlackRock from $959.00 to $1,210.00 in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. Argus reissued a "buy" rating on shares of BlackRock in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $1,115.00 price target on shares of BlackRock in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on shares of BlackRock from $1,247.00 to $1,224.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 16th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, BlackRock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $1,151.21.

BlackRock Trading Up 1.0%

Shares of NYSE:BLK traded up $11.37 during trading on Friday, reaching $1,124.20. 427,828 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 674,734. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $1,054.94 and its 200 day moving average price is $985.49. The firm has a market cap of $174.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.24 and a beta of 1.42. BlackRock has a 12-month low of $773.74 and a 12-month high of $1,131.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a quick ratio of 4.34 and a current ratio of 4.04.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 15th. The asset manager reported $12.05 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $10.41 by $1.64. BlackRock had a net margin of 29.68% and a return on equity of 15.53%. The company had revenue of $5.42 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.40 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $10.36 earnings per share. BlackRock's revenue for the quarter was up 12.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that BlackRock will post 47.41 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

BlackRock Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 23rd. Investors of record on Friday, September 5th will be issued a dividend of $5.21 per share. This represents a $20.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.9%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 5th. BlackRock's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 50.39%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Fabrizio Freda sold 4,434 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Laurence Fink sold 12,054 shares of BlackRock stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,125.43, for a total transaction of $13,565,933.22. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 251,697 shares of the company's stock, valued at $283,267,354.71. This trade represents a 4.57% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 66,494 shares of company stock valued at $74,694,573. Corporate insiders own 1.98% of the company's stock.

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.