BlackRock $BLK Position Increased by Banque Transatlantique SA

Key Points

• Banque Transatlantique SA increased its stake in BlackRock by an astonishing 27,792.4% during the first quarter, holding 18,409 shares valued at approximately $16.1 million.
• BlackRock recently declared a quarterly dividend of $5.21 per share, with an annualized dividend of $20.84, representing a yield of 1.9%.
• CEO Laurence Fink sold 12,054 shares of BlackRock, reducing his stake by 4.57%, as the company showed strong quarterly earnings, beating expectations with $12.05 EPS.

Banque Transatlantique SA increased its holdings in shares of BlackRock (NYSE:BLK - Free Report) by 27,792.4% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 18,409 shares of the asset manager's stock after purchasing an additional 18,343 shares during the period. Banque Transatlantique SA's holdings in BlackRock were worth $16,102,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in BLK. Investment Management Corp VA ADV purchased a new position in shares of BlackRock in the 4th quarter valued at about $30,000. Fairway Wealth LLC increased its holdings in BlackRock by 76.5% during the 1st quarter. Fairway Wealth LLC now owns 30 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 13 shares in the last quarter. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in BlackRock during the 1st quarter valued at about $31,000. Cheviot Value Management LLC purchased a new position in BlackRock during the 1st quarter valued at about $30,000. Finally, CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC purchased a new stake in shares of BlackRock during the first quarter worth about $34,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.69% of the company's stock.

BlackRock Trading Down 0.9%

BLK stock traded down $9.55 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $1,099.21. 487,573 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 446,742. The company has a market capitalization of $170.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.58, a PEG ratio of 2.10 and a beta of 1.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a current ratio of 4.04 and a quick ratio of 4.04. BlackRock has a fifty-two week low of $773.74 and a fifty-two week high of $1,171.89. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $1,110.95 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $1,002.21.

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 for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $10.41 by $1.64. The firm had revenue of $5.42 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $5.40 billion. BlackRock had a net margin of 29.68% and a return on equity of 15.53%. BlackRock's revenue was up 12.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $10.36 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that BlackRock will post 47.41 EPS for the current fiscal year.

BlackRock Dividend Announcement

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

BLK has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on shares of BlackRock from $1,247.00 to $1,224.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 16th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price target on shares of BlackRock from $1,247.00 to $1,224.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 16th. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $1,115.00 price target on shares of BlackRock in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of BlackRock in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. Finally, Evercore ISI lifted their price target on shares of BlackRock from $1,170.00 to $1,200.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $1,154.07.

Insider Buying and Selling at BlackRock

In other news, Director Fabrizio Freda sold 4,434 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,122.81, for a total transaction of $4,978,539.54. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 3,506 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,936,571.86. The trade was a 55.84% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director J. Richard Kushel sold 17,142 shares of the business's 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 transaction, the director directly owned 61,369 shares in the company, valued at approximately $68,763,964.50. The trade was a 21.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 66,494 shares of company stock valued at $74,694,573. 1.98% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

BlackRock 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.