BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S Sells 316 Shares of BlackRock $BLK

Key Points

• BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S reduced its stake in BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) by 5.2%, selling 316 shares and holding a total of 5,722 shares worth approximately $5.4 million.
• In the first quarter, several institutional investors significantly increased their stakes in BlackRock, including GAMMA Investing LLC, which boosted its position by an astounding 104,598.9%.
• BlackRock's quarterly earnings report revealed an EPS of $12.05, exceeding estimates, and the company has recently declared a dividend of $5.21, indicating strong financial performance.

BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S lowered its stake in shares of BlackRock (NYSE:BLK - Free Report) by 5.2% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 5,722 shares of the asset manager's stock after selling 316 shares during the period. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S's holdings in BlackRock were worth $5,416,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in BLK. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position in shares of 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 period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its stake in shares of BlackRock by 401.5% in the fourth 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 valued at $1,122,743,000 after purchasing an additional 876,836 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in BlackRock by 2.9% in the first 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. Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its stake in BlackRock by 18.6% during the fourth quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 2,100,163 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $2,152,907,000 after buying an additional 329,244 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased 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 valued at $1,071,339,000 after buying an additional 279,336 shares during the period. 80.69% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

BlackRock Stock Up 0.0%

Shares of BLK opened at $1,129.0310 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $174.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.30, a PEG ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 1.42. BlackRock has a one year low of $773.74 and a one year high of $1,171.89. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $1,079.75 and its 200-day simple moving average is $991.10. 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 (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 analysts' consensus estimates of $10.41 by $1.64. BlackRock had a return on equity of 15.53% and a net margin of 29.68%.The company 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 earned $10.36 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 12.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that BlackRock will post 47.41 EPS for the current fiscal year.

BlackRock Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 23rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 5th will be given a $5.21 dividend. This represents a $20.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 5th. BlackRock's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 50.39%.

Insider Activity at BlackRock

In other news, CEO Laurence Fink sold 12,054 shares of the company'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 transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 251,697 shares in the company, valued at approximately $283,267,354.71. This represents a 4.57% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director J. Richard Kushel sold 17,142 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,120.50, for a total transaction of $19,207,611.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 61,369 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $68,763,964.50. This represents a 21.83% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 66,494 shares of company stock worth $74,694,573. 1.98% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on BLK shares. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on shares of BlackRock from $1,180.00 to $1,170.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 16th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on BlackRock from $959.00 to $1,210.00 in a report on Thursday, July 10th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on BlackRock from $1,247.00 to $1,224.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 16th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their target price on BlackRock from $1,247.00 to $1,224.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 16th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of BlackRock in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $1,151.21.

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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