BlackRock $BLK Holdings Decreased by Sarasin & Partners LLP

Key Points

• Sarasin & Partners LLP decreased their holdings in BlackRock by 8.6%, selling 20,893 shares, which now constitutes 2.3% of their investment portfolio, valued at approximately $234.24 million.
• Other institutional investors, including Vanguard Group and Goldman Sachs, increased their stakes in BlackRock, with Vanguard acquiring an additional 387,466 shares, raising their total to over $13 billion in value.
• BlackRock reported earnings per share of $12.05 for the last quarter, exceeding analyst expectations, and announced a quarterly dividend of $5.21 per share to be paid in September.

Sarasin & Partners LLP lessened its holdings in shares of BlackRock (NYSE:BLK - Free Report) by 8.6% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 223,241 shares of the asset manager's stock after selling 20,893 shares during the quarter. BlackRock makes up 2.3% of Sarasin & Partners LLP's investment portfolio, making the stock its 17th largest holding. Sarasin & Partners LLP owned 0.14% of BlackRock worth $234,236,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of BLK. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in BlackRock by 2.9% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 13,764,072 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $13,027,419,000 after purchasing an additional 387,466 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in BlackRock by 104,598.9% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 3,500,083 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $3,312,759,000 after purchasing an additional 3,496,740 shares in the last quarter. Royal Bank of Canada grew its holdings in shares of BlackRock by 73.2% during the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 1,313,350 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $1,243,059,000 after acquiring an additional 555,098 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC grew its holdings in shares of BlackRock by 10.2% during the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 1,206,935 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $1,142,340,000 after acquiring an additional 111,694 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of BlackRock by 32.8% during 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 acquiring an additional 279,336 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.69% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at BlackRock

In other BlackRock news, Director Fabrizio Freda sold 4,434 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the director owned 3,506 shares in the company, valued at $3,936,571.86. This trade represents a 55.84% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at 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 stock was sold at an average price of $1,120.50, for a total value of $19,207,611.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 61,369 shares of the company's stock, 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. Insiders have sold 66,494 shares of company stock worth $74,694,573 in the last three months. 1.98% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered 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. Argus restated a "buy" rating on shares of BlackRock in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Zacks Research cut BlackRock from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 14th. UBS Group reissued a "neutral" rating and issued a $980.00 price target on shares of BlackRock in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Finally, Bank of America boosted their price target on BlackRock from $1,214.00 to $1,224.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 16th. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $1,154.07.

BlackRock Stock Up 0.3%

NYSE BLK opened at $1,118.01 on Wednesday. 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 firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $1,117.47 and a 200 day simple moving average of $1,009.52. BlackRock has a twelve month low of $773.74 and a twelve month high of $1,171.89. The stock has a market cap of $173.12 billion, a PE ratio of 27.03, a PEG ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 1.45.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, July 15th. The asset manager reported $12.05 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $5.40 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $10.36 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 12.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts forecast that BlackRock will post 47.41 EPS for the current year.

BlackRock Announces Dividend

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

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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