Swedbank AB Boosts Holdings in BlackRock $BLK

Key Points

• Swedbank AB increased its stake in BlackRock by 0.3% in Q2, owning 86,103 shares valued at approximately $90.34 million.
• BlackRock reported $12.05 earnings per share for the last quarter, surpassing estimates and showing a revenue increase of 12.9% year-over-year.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $5.21 with a dividend yield of 1.8%, reflecting a payout ratio of 50.39%.

Swedbank AB boosted its position in BlackRock (NYSE:BLK - Free Report) by 0.3% in the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 86,103 shares of the asset manager's stock after buying an additional 225 shares during the quarter. Swedbank AB owned approximately 0.06% of BlackRock worth $90,344,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of BLK. Garde Capital Inc. grew its position in shares of BlackRock by 200.0% in the second quarter. Garde Capital Inc. now owns 27 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 18 shares in the last quarter. Investment Management Corp VA ADV purchased a new position in BlackRock during the 4th quarter valued at about $30,000. Fairway Wealth LLC grew 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 buying an additional 13 shares in the last quarter. Game Plan Financial Advisors LLC grew its stake in BlackRock by 100.0% during the first quarter. Game Plan Financial Advisors LLC now owns 30 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 15 shares in the last quarter. Finally, MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in BlackRock during the first quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.69% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at BlackRock

In other news, 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 completion of the transaction, the director owned 61,369 shares in the company, valued at $68,763,964.50. This trade represents a 21.83% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Laurence Fink sold 14,828 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,122.28, for a total value of $16,641,167.84. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 263,751 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $296,002,472.28. The trade was a 5.32% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 66,494 shares of company stock worth $74,694,573. 1.98% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

BLK has been the subject of a number of research reports. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on shares of BlackRock from $1,180.00 to $1,170.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 16th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on BlackRock from $959.00 to $1,210.00 in a report on Thursday, July 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on BlackRock from $1,018.00 to $1,093.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note 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 research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Finally, Argus reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of BlackRock in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $1,154.07.

BlackRock Trading Up 0.5%

NYSE BLK traded up $5.63 on Friday, hitting $1,142.76. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,504,904 shares, compared to its average volume of 445,605. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $1,119.82 and its 200 day simple moving average is $1,012.87. BlackRock has a 52-week low of $773.74 and a 52-week high of $1,171.89. The firm has a market cap of $176.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.63, a PEG ratio of 2.18 and a beta of 1.45. The company has a current ratio of 4.04, a quick ratio of 4.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.40 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $10.36 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 12.9% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that BlackRock will post 47.41 EPS for the current fiscal year.

BlackRock Dividend Announcement

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 issued a $5.21 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 5th. This represents a $20.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.8%. BlackRock's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 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.