BlackRock $BLK Stock Position Raised by APG Asset Management N.V.

Key Points

• APG Asset Management N.V. has significantly increased its stake in BlackRock, acquiring a total of 100,980 shares after a 281.8% increase, now valued at approximately $88.5 million.
• Insider selling was notable, with Director Fabrizio Freda and Director Rachel Lord selling 4,434 and 18,036 shares respectively, reflecting significant decreases in their ownership positions.
• BlackRock reported strong quarterly earnings with $12.05 earnings per share, surpassing analyst expectations of $10.41, alongside a revenue growth of 12.9% year-over-year.

APG Asset Management N.V. increased its position in shares of BlackRock (NYSE:BLK - Free Report) by 281.8% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 100,980 shares of the asset manager's stock after acquiring an additional 74,531 shares during the quarter. APG Asset Management N.V. owned approximately 0.07% of BlackRock worth $88,479,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its position in BlackRock by 4.8% during the first quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 2,747 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $2,601,000 after acquiring an additional 125 shares during the last quarter. AlphaQuest LLC boosted its position in BlackRock by 1,330.4% during the first quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 329 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $311,000 after acquiring an additional 306 shares during the last quarter. Strategies Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in BlackRock during the first quarter worth approximately $466,000. Allstate Corp acquired a new position in shares of BlackRock in the 1st quarter valued at $2,697,000. Finally, Kelly Lawrence W & Associates Inc. CA acquired a new position in shares of BlackRock in the 1st quarter valued at $50,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.69% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on BLK shares. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of BlackRock from $1,180.00 to $1,170.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 16th. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $1,115.00 price target on shares of BlackRock in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. Bank of America lifted their price target on shares of BlackRock from $1,214.00 to $1,224.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 16th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price target on shares of BlackRock from $1,247.00 to $1,224.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 16th. Finally, Zacks Research lowered shares of BlackRock from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, August 14th. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $1,151.21.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Laurence Fink sold 12,054 shares of BlackRock stock in a transaction 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 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 filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director J. Richard Kushel sold 17,142 shares of BlackRock stock in a transaction on 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. This trade represents a 21.83% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 66,494 shares of company stock worth $74,694,573. Corporate insiders own 1.98% of the company's stock.

BlackRock Stock Down 0.6%

Shares of NYSE:BLK traded down $6.35 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $1,133.45. 309,878 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 750,640. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a quick ratio of 4.04 and a current ratio of 4.04. The company has a market cap of $175.52 billion, a PE ratio of 27.40, a P/E/G ratio of 2.18 and a beta of 1.42. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $1,092.57 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $994.55. BlackRock has a twelve month low of $773.74 and a twelve month high of $1,171.89.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results 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 firm had revenue of $5.42 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.40 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $10.36 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 12.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that BlackRock will post 47.41 EPS for the current fiscal year.

BlackRock Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared 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 1.8%. BlackRock's payout ratio is 50.39%.

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.