Epoch Investment Partners Inc. Sells 1,233 Shares of BlackRock $BLK

Key Points

• Epoch Investment Partners Inc. reduced its stake in BlackRock by 3.0%, now holding 39,746 shares valued at approximately $37.6 million.
• BlackRock's CEO, Laurence Fink, and Director, Rachel Lord, each sold large amounts of stock on July 25, leading to significant decreases in their holdings.
• BlackRock announced a quarterly dividend of $5.21 per share, with a dividend yield of 1.8%, to be paid on September 23rd.

Epoch Investment Partners Inc. trimmed its position in shares of BlackRock (NYSE:BLK - Free Report) by 3.0% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 39,746 shares of the asset manager's stock after selling 1,233 shares during the quarter. Epoch Investment Partners Inc.'s holdings in BlackRock were worth $37,619,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. FORA Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of BlackRock during the first quarter worth $2,617,000. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec raised its holdings in shares of BlackRock by 1.6% during the first quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec now owns 128,017 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $121,166,000 after acquiring an additional 1,984 shares during the period. Virtus Advisers LLC acquired a new stake in shares of BlackRock during the first quarter worth $85,000. Full Sail Capital LLC raised its holdings in shares of BlackRock by 23.6% during the first quarter. Full Sail Capital LLC now owns 518 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $490,000 after acquiring an additional 99 shares during the period. Finally, Ally Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of BlackRock during the first quarter worth $1,893,000. 80.69% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently commented on BLK. Bank of America raised their price objective on shares of BlackRock from $1,214.00 to $1,224.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 16th. 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 report on Wednesday, July 16th. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a "buy" rating and set a $1,115.00 price objective on shares of BlackRock in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of BlackRock from $990.00 to $1,220.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, July 10th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target 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. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, BlackRock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $1,151.21.

BlackRock Stock Performance

Shares of BlackRock stock traded down $2.03 during trading on Friday, hitting $1,128.45. 356,048 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 487,929. The stock has a market capitalization of $174.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 1.42. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $1,101.81 and a 200-day moving average price of $997.48. 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.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, July 15th. The asset manager reported $12.05 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $10.41 by $1.64. The business had revenue of $5.42 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.40 billion. BlackRock had a net margin of 29.68% and a return on equity of 15.53%. BlackRock's revenue was up 12.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $10.36 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that BlackRock will post 47.41 EPS for the current fiscal year.

BlackRock Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 23rd. Investors of record on Friday, September 5th will be issued a dividend of $5.21 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 5th. This represents a $20.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.8%. BlackRock's payout ratio is presently 50.39%.

Insider Activity at BlackRock

In related news, Director Fabrizio Freda sold 4,434 shares of BlackRock 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 sale, the director owned 3,506 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,936,571.86. The trade was a 55.84% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Laurence Fink sold 12,054 shares of BlackRock stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,125.43, for a total transaction of $13,565,933.22. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 251,697 shares of the company's stock, valued at $283,267,354.71. The trade was a 4.57% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 66,494 shares of company stock worth $74,694,573. 1.98% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

BlackRock 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.