BlackRock $BLK Stock Position Raised by CX Institutional

Key Points

• CX Institutional significantly increased its stake in BlackRock by 1,085.1% during Q2, now owning 5,582 shares valued at approximately $5.86 million.
• BlackRock reported $12.05 EPS for its latest quarter, outperforming expectations, with quarterly revenue up by 12.9% year-over-year.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $5.21 per share, resulting in an annualized dividend yield of 1.8% and a payout ratio of 50.39%.

CX Institutional increased its stake in shares of BlackRock (NYSE:BLK - Free Report) by 1,085.1% in the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 5,582 shares of the asset manager's stock after purchasing an additional 5,111 shares during the period. CX Institutional's holdings in BlackRock were worth $5,857,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Securian Asset Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of BlackRock during the 1st quarter worth $7,331,000. Prudent Man Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in BlackRock in the first quarter valued at $2,018,000. Allianz SE lifted its position in BlackRock by 2.6% in the first quarter. Allianz SE now owns 11,025 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $10,435,000 after acquiring an additional 277 shares during the last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System purchased a new stake in BlackRock in the first quarter valued at $40,868,000. Finally, Community Financial Services Group LLC lifted its position in BlackRock by 17.2% in the first quarter. Community Financial Services Group LLC now owns 5,702 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $5,397,000 after acquiring an additional 836 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.69% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on BLK. UBS Group reissued a "neutral" rating and issued a $980.00 price target on shares of BlackRock in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of BlackRock from $1,180.00 to $1,170.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 16th. Bank of America lifted their price objective on shares of BlackRock from $1,214.00 to $1,224.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of BlackRock from $1,018.00 to $1,093.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 16th. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on shares of 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. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to 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 stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,122.81, for a total value of $4,978,539.54. Following the sale, the director directly owned 3,506 shares in the company, valued at $3,936,571.86. This represents a 55.84% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Rachel Lord sold 18,036 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,125.60, for a total transaction of $20,301,321.60. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 19,205 shares in the company, valued at approximately $21,617,148. This represents a 48.43% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 66,494 shares of company stock valued at $74,694,573 over the last three months. Company insiders own 1.98% of the company's stock.

BlackRock Price Performance

BlackRock stock traded down $6.59 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $1,129.62. The company had a trading volume of 209,514 shares, compared to its average volume of 727,091. BlackRock has a 1 year low of $773.74 and a 1 year high of $1,171.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a current ratio of 4.04 and a quick ratio of 4.04. The company has a market capitalization of $174.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.27, a P/E/G ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 1.45. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $1,120.31 and its 200-day simple moving average is $1,014.87.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, July 15th. The asset manager reported $12.05 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $10.41 by $1.64. BlackRock had a net margin of 29.68% and a return on equity of 15.53%. The company had revenue of $5.42 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $5.40 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $10.36 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 12.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts predict that BlackRock will post 47.41 EPS for the current year.

BlackRock Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 23rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 5th will be given a $5.21 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 5th. This represents a $20.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.8%. BlackRock's dividend payout ratio is currently 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.