BlackRock $BLK Holdings Reduced by Alps Advisors Inc.

Key Points

• Alps Advisors cut its BlackRock stake by 55.7% in the third quarter, selling 3,537 shares and retaining 2,815 shares valued at about $2.98 million.
• Analyst sentiment remains positive: BlackRock has a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $1,342.25.
• BlackRock’s latest quarterly results beat expectations, with earnings of $15.93 per share and revenue of $7.75 billion; revenue rose 19.1% year over year.

Alps Advisors Inc. cut its position in BlackRock (NYSE:BLK - Free Report) by 55.7% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,815 shares of the asset manager's stock after selling 3,537 shares during the period. Alps Advisors Inc.'s holdings in BlackRock were worth $2,979,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of BLK. Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority acquired a new position in BlackRock in the second quarter valued at approximately $129,138,253,000. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new position in BlackRock in the second quarter valued at approximately $9,747,857,000. Temasek Holdings Private Ltd raised its holdings in BlackRock by 4.7% during the first quarter. Temasek Holdings Private Ltd now owns 5,330,492 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $5,126,387,000 after purchasing an additional 237,667 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE raised its holdings in BlackRock by 0.7% during the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 5,232,973 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $5,032,603,000 after purchasing an additional 35,069 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its position in shares of BlackRock by 23.3% during the 2nd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 4,495,074 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $4,322,283,000 after buying an additional 850,406 shares during the last quarter. 80.69% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on BLK. Jefferies Financial Group restated a "buy" rating and issued a $1,341.00 target price on shares of BlackRock in a report on Wednesday, October 28th. Barclays dropped their target price on shares of BlackRock from $1,420.00 to $1,410.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of BlackRock from $1,435.00 to $1,449.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 15th. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price target on shares of BlackRock from $1,389.00 to $1,346.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 2nd. Finally, UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of BlackRock from $1,277.00 to $1,300.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 15th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have given a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $1,342.25.

BlackRock Stock Performance

Shares of BLK opened at $1,216.17 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 3.59, a quick ratio of 3.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. The firm has a market cap of $188.35 billion, a PE ratio of 27.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 1.37. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $1,105.98 and its 200-day simple moving average is $1,065.92. BlackRock has a 12-month low of $917.39 and a 12-month high of $1,242.12.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 14th. The asset manager reported $15.93 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $14.32 by $1.61. The firm had revenue of $7.75 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.42 billion. BlackRock had a net margin of 24.22% and a return on equity of 16.08%. BlackRock's revenue for the quarter was up 19.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $8.43 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that BlackRock will post 57.82 EPS for the current year.

BlackRock Profile

BlackRock, Inc is a global investment management and financial technology company serving individuals, institutions, governments and other organizations. Founded in 1988, the company is headquartered in New York City and operates in markets around the world.

BlackRock offers investment products and services across asset classes, including equities, fixed income, cash management and alternative investments. Its offerings include exchange-traded funds and other funds under the iShares brand, as well as portfolio management, investment advisory and risk management services.

The company also provides Aladdin, a technology platform used by investors and financial institutions for portfolio management, operations and risk analysis.

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