American Trust Decreases Position in BlackRock $BLK

Key Points

• American Trust reduced its holdings in BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) by 21.8% in the first quarter, now owning 2,665 shares valued at $2.52 million.
• In contrast, Vanguard Group Inc. and GAMMA Investing LLC significantly increased their positions in BlackRock, with Vanguard's stake rising by 2.9% and GAMMA's by over 104,000%.
• BlackRock reported a quarterly earnings per share of $12.05, exceeding estimates and showing a 12.9% increase in revenue year-over-year.

American Trust lessened its holdings in BlackRock (NYSE:BLK - Free Report) by 21.8% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,665 shares of the asset manager's stock after selling 742 shares during the quarter. American Trust's holdings in BlackRock were worth $2,522,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in BlackRock by 2.9% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 13,764,072 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $13,027,419,000 after purchasing an additional 387,466 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in BlackRock by 104,598.9% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 3,500,083 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $3,312,759,000 after acquiring an additional 3,496,740 shares during the last quarter. Royal Bank of Canada grew its holdings in BlackRock by 73.2% in the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 1,313,350 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $1,243,059,000 after acquiring an additional 555,098 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its holdings in BlackRock by 32.8% in the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 1,131,919 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $1,071,339,000 after acquiring an additional 279,336 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its holdings in BlackRock by 401.5% in the 4th quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 1,095,241 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $1,122,743,000 after acquiring an additional 876,836 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.69% of the company's stock.

BlackRock Trading Up 0.5%

NYSE:BLK opened at $1,104.21 on Tuesday. BlackRock has a one year low of $773.74 and a one year high of $1,171.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a current ratio of 4.04 and a quick ratio of 4.04. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $1,112.03 and its 200 day simple moving average is $1,003.20. The firm has a market capitalization of $170.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.70, a PEG ratio of 2.10 and a beta of 1.45.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 15th. The asset manager reported $12.05 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 business had revenue of $5.42 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.40 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $10.36 earnings per share. BlackRock's quarterly revenue was up 12.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts forecast that BlackRock will post 47.41 EPS for the current fiscal year.

BlackRock Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $1,115.00 price target on shares of BlackRock in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. Zacks Research lowered shares of BlackRock from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, August 14th. Barclays raised their price target on shares of BlackRock from $990.00 to $1,220.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, July 10th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on shares of BlackRock from $959.00 to $1,210.00 in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on shares of BlackRock from $1,180.00 to $1,170.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 16th. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $1,154.07.

Insider Buying and Selling at BlackRock

In related news, CEO Laurence Fink sold 12,054 shares of the business's 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 sale, the chief executive officer owned 251,697 shares of the company's stock, valued at $283,267,354.71. The trade was a 4.57% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director J. Richard Kushel sold 17,142 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,120.50, for a total transaction of $19,207,611.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 61,369 shares in the company, valued at $68,763,964.50. The trade was a 21.83% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 66,494 shares of company stock worth $74,694,573. 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.

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