BlackRock $BLK Stake Decreased by Groupama Asset Managment

Key Points

• Groupama Asset Management has reduced its stake in BlackRock by 20.9%, selling 676 shares and now holding 2,558 shares valued at approximately $2.42 million.
• BlackRock reported $12.05 earnings per share for the last quarter, exceeding estimates by $1.64 and demonstrating a year-over-year revenue increase of 12.9%.
• The firm has declared a quarterly dividend of $5.21, with a dividend yield of 1.8% and a payout ratio of 50.39%.

Groupama Asset Managment reduced its stake in BlackRock (NYSE:BLK - Free Report) by 20.9% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,558 shares of the asset manager's stock after selling 676 shares during the period. Groupama Asset Managment's holdings in BlackRock were worth $2,422,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in shares of BlackRock by 104,598.9% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 3,500,083 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $3,312,759,000 after acquiring an additional 3,496,740 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its stake in shares of BlackRock by 401.5% during the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 1,095,241 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $1,122,743,000 after acquiring an additional 876,836 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of BlackRock by 2.9% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 13,764,072 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $13,027,419,000 after acquiring an additional 387,466 shares in the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its stake in shares of BlackRock by 18.6% during the fourth quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 2,100,163 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $2,152,907,000 after acquiring an additional 329,244 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of BlackRock by 32.8% during the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 1,131,919 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $1,071,339,000 after acquiring an additional 279,336 shares in the last quarter. 80.69% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on BLK. Zacks Research downgraded BlackRock from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on BlackRock from $1,018.00 to $1,093.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 16th. Telsey Advisory Group restated an "outperform" rating on shares of BlackRock in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Bank of America raised their target price on BlackRock from $1,214.00 to $1,224.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 16th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded BlackRock to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, May 24th. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $1,151.21.

BlackRock Stock Performance

BLK stock traded up $23.1220 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $1,147.8720. The company had a trading volume of 433,646 shares, compared to its average volume of 482,641. The company has a quick ratio of 4.04, a current ratio of 4.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $1,086.01 and a 200 day moving average price of $992.76. BlackRock has a fifty-two week low of $773.74 and a fifty-two week high of $1,171.89. The firm has a market capitalization of $177.75 billion, a PE ratio of 27.75, a P/E/G ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 1.42.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, July 15th. The asset manager reported $12.05 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 the consensus estimate of $5.40 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $10.36 earnings per share. BlackRock's quarterly revenue was up 12.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that BlackRock will post 47.41 earnings per share for the current year.

BlackRock Announces Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other BlackRock news, Director J. Richard Kushel sold 17,142 shares of BlackRock 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 directly owned 61,369 shares in the company, valued at $68,763,964.50. The trade was a 21.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Laurence Fink sold 14,828 shares of BlackRock 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 66,494 shares of company stock valued at $74,694,573. 1.98% of the stock is currently owned by 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.