BlackRock $BLK Shares Purchased by Aptus Capital Advisors LLC

Key Points

• Aptus Capital Advisors LLC increased its stake in BlackRock by 15.4% in Q1, owning 28,445 shares valued at approximately $26.92 million.
• Barclays raised BlackRock's price target from $990 to $1,220 with an "overweight" rating, while the consensus target price is $1,151.21.
• BlackRock recently declared a quarterly dividend of $5.21 per share, with a 1.8% yield, to be paid on September 23rd.

Aptus Capital Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of BlackRock (NYSE:BLK - Free Report) by 15.4% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 28,445 shares of the asset manager's stock after purchasing an additional 3,805 shares during the quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC's holdings in BlackRock were worth $26,922,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Investment Management Corp VA ADV purchased a new stake in BlackRock during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Fairway Wealth LLC lifted its holdings in shares of BlackRock by 76.5% in 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 during the period. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of BlackRock in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Cheviot Value Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of BlackRock in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Finally, CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC acquired a new stake in shares of BlackRock in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $34,000. 80.69% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on BLK shares. Barclays boosted their price target on BlackRock from $990.00 to $1,220.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, July 10th. UBS Group reiterated a "neutral" rating and issued a $980.00 target price on shares of BlackRock in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Argus reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of BlackRock in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on BlackRock from $1,247.00 to $1,224.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 16th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on BlackRock from $1,018.00 to $1,093.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 16th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, BlackRock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $1,151.21.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other BlackRock news, Director Fabrizio Freda sold 4,434 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,122.81, for a total value of $4,978,539.54. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 3,506 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,936,571.86. This trade represents a 55.84% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director J. Richard Kushel sold 17,142 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 30th. The shares were 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 directly owned 61,369 shares in the company, valued at approximately $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 valued at $74,694,573 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 1.98% of the company's stock.

BlackRock Stock Performance

Shares of BLK stock opened at $1,135.88 on Monday. BlackRock has a 1-year low of $773.74 and a 1-year high of $1,171.89. The company has a current ratio of 4.04, a quick ratio of 4.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39. The company has a market capitalization of $175.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.46, a P/E/G ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 1.42. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $1,071.38 and its 200-day simple moving average is $988.76.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 15th. The asset manager reported $12.05 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 the consensus estimate of $5.40 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $10.36 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 12.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts predict that BlackRock will post 47.41 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

BlackRock Dividend Announcement

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

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