BlackRock $BLK Shares Sold by Kestra Advisory Services LLC

Key Points

• Kestra Advisory Services LLC reduced its stake in BlackRock by 3.4%, now owning 21,076 shares worth approximately $19.9 million.
• Directors, including J. Richard Kushel and Rachel Lord, sold significant shares resulting in a 21.83% and 48.43% decrease in their holdings, respectively.
• BlackRock recently declared a quarterly dividend of $5.21 per share, representing a 1.8% yield based on an annualized payout of $20.84.

Kestra Advisory Services LLC lessened its stake in BlackRock (NYSE:BLK - Free Report) by 3.4% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 21,076 shares of the asset manager's stock after selling 731 shares during the period. Kestra Advisory Services LLC's holdings in BlackRock were worth $19,948,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in BLK. Fairway Wealth LLC lifted its holdings in shares of BlackRock by 76.5% during the first quarter. Fairway Wealth LLC now owns 30 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 13 shares during the period. Investment Management Corp VA ADV acquired a new position in shares of BlackRock during the fourth quarter worth about $30,000. Cheviot Value Management LLC purchased a new position in BlackRock during the first quarter worth about $30,000. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in BlackRock in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Finally, CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC acquired a new position in BlackRock during the 1st quarter worth approximately $34,000. 80.69% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently commented on the company. Argus reissued a "buy" rating on shares of BlackRock in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. Telsey Advisory Group reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of BlackRock in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of BlackRock to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, May 24th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on shares of BlackRock from $959.00 to $1,210.00 in a report on Thursday, July 10th. Finally, UBS Group reissued a "neutral" rating and set a $980.00 price objective on shares of BlackRock in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $1,151.21.

BlackRock Price Performance

BLK stock traded down $6.35 on Wednesday, reaching $1,133.45. The company had a trading volume of 307,395 shares, compared to its average volume of 750,243. The company's fifty day moving average is $1,092.57 and its 200 day moving average is $994.55. The company has a market cap of $175.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.40, a PEG ratio of 2.18 and a beta of 1.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a quick ratio of 4.04 and a current ratio of 4.04. BlackRock has a 1 year low of $773.74 and a 1 year high of $1,171.89.

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

BlackRock Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 23rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 5th will be issued a dividend of $5.21 per share. 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 (DPR) is 50.39%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director J. Richard Kushel sold 17,142 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the director directly owned 61,369 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $68,763,964.50. This trade represents a 21.83% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Laurence Fink sold 12,054 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,125.43, for a total value of $13,565,933.22. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 251,697 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $283,267,354.71. This trade represents a 4.57% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 66,494 shares of company stock worth $74,694,573 in the last three months. Company insiders own 1.98% of the company's stock.

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.