Aberdeen Group plc Acquires 8,263 Shares of BlackRock $BLK

Key Points

• Aberdeen Group plc has increased its stake in BlackRock by 7.7%, acquiring an additional 8,263 shares, bringing its total ownership to approximately 0.07% valued at $120.56 million.
• BlackRock CEO Laurence Fink sold 12,054 shares for over $13.5 million, decreasing his position by 4.57%, while institutional investors collectively hold 80.69% of the company's stock.
• The company's quarterly earnings surpassed estimates with $12.05 EPS, and BlackRock announced a quarterly dividend of $5.21 per share, reflecting a 1.8% yield based on a payout ratio of 50.39%.

Aberdeen Group plc increased its holdings in shares of BlackRock (NYSE:BLK - Free Report) by 7.7% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 115,433 shares of the asset manager's stock after acquiring an additional 8,263 shares during the quarter. Aberdeen Group plc owned about 0.07% of BlackRock worth $120,560,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the business. Agate Pass Investment Management LLC increased its position in BlackRock by 12.9% during the second quarter. Agate Pass Investment Management LLC now owns 795 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $834,000 after acquiring an additional 91 shares during the period. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in BlackRock by 2.6% during the second quarter. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 389 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $408,000 after acquiring an additional 10 shares during the period. First Fiduciary Investment Counsel Inc. increased its position in BlackRock by 0.8% during the second quarter. First Fiduciary Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 23,057 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $24,193,000 after acquiring an additional 177 shares during the period. Blue Zone Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in BlackRock by 7.1% during the second quarter. Blue Zone Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 5,247 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $5,505,000 after acquiring an additional 348 shares during the period. Finally, Strong Tower Advisory Services increased its position in BlackRock by 3.3% during the second quarter. Strong Tower Advisory Services now owns 3,380 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $3,546,000 after acquiring an additional 107 shares during the period. 80.69% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at BlackRock

In other BlackRock news, CEO Laurence Fink sold 12,054 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 251,697 shares of the company's stock, valued at $283,267,354.71. The trade was a 4.57% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Fabrizio Freda sold 4,434 shares of the business'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 transaction of $4,978,539.54. Following the sale, the director directly owned 3,506 shares in the company, valued at $3,936,571.86. The trade was a 55.84% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 66,494 shares of company stock valued at $74,694,573. Company insiders own 1.98% of the company's stock.

BlackRock Trading Down 3.0%

Shares of BlackRock stock opened at $1,132.12 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $175.31 billion, a PE ratio of 27.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 1.45. The company has a current ratio of 4.04, a quick ratio of 4.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39. The firm's 50 day moving average is $1,134.85 and its 200 day moving average is $1,034.64. BlackRock has a 1 year low of $773.74 and a 1 year high of $1,184.13.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 15th. The asset manager reported $12.05 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 net margin of 29.68% and a return on equity of 15.53%. The firm's revenue was up 12.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $10.36 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that BlackRock will post 47.41 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

BlackRock Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 23rd. Investors of record on Friday, September 5th were issued a dividend of $5.21 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, September 5th. This represents a $20.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.8%. BlackRock's payout ratio is 50.39%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

BLK has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of BlackRock from $1,093.00 to $1,242.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, October 2nd. Zacks Research lowered shares of BlackRock from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, August 14th. BMO Capital Markets initiated coverage on shares of BlackRock in a report on Friday, October 3rd. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $1,280.00 target price on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on shares of BlackRock from $1,196.00 to $1,325.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday. Finally, BNP Paribas Exane raised their target price on shares of BlackRock from $1,160.00 to $1,265.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have issued a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $1,258.56.

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.

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