BlackRock $BLK Shares Sold by Leo Wealth LLC

Key Points

• Leo Wealth LLC reduced its holdings in BlackRock by 9.6%, now owning 8,830 shares valued at approximately $9.26 million.
• Several hedge funds, including Vanguard Group and Royal Bank of Canada, have recently increased their stakes in BlackRock, indicating strong institutional interest in the asset manager.
• BlackRock reported an earnings per share of $12.05 for the quarter, outperforming estimates and showing a 12.9% increase in quarterly revenue compared to the previous year.

Leo Wealth LLC cut its position in BlackRock (NYSE:BLK - Free Report) by 9.6% during the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 8,830 shares of the asset manager's stock after selling 943 shares during the period. BlackRock makes up 0.7% of Leo Wealth LLC's holdings, making the stock its 28th largest position. Leo Wealth LLC's holdings in BlackRock were worth $9,259,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of BlackRock by 2.9% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 13,764,072 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $13,027,419,000 after buying an additional 387,466 shares during the last quarter. Royal Bank of Canada boosted its stake in shares of BlackRock by 73.2% in the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 1,313,350 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $1,243,059,000 after buying an additional 555,098 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC boosted its stake in shares of BlackRock by 10.2% in the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 1,206,935 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $1,142,340,000 after buying an additional 111,694 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of BlackRock by 32.8% in the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 1,131,919 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $1,071,339,000 after buying an additional 279,336 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of BlackRock by 13.2% in the first quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 932,899 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $882,970,000 after buying an additional 108,473 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.69% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Fabrizio Freda sold 4,434 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the director owned 3,506 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,936,571.86. This trade represents a 55.84% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director J. Richard Kushel sold 17,142 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the director directly owned 61,369 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $68,763,964.50. This represents a 21.83% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 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 Stock Performance

NYSE BLK opened at $1,163.72 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $180.21 billion, a PE ratio of 28.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.20 and a beta of 1.45. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $1,132.82 and its 200-day simple moving average is $1,032.16. BlackRock has a 1-year low of $773.74 and a 1-year high of $1,184.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a current ratio of 4.04 and a quick ratio of 4.04.

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

BlackRock Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 23rd. Investors of record on Friday, September 5th were issued a $5.21 dividend. This represents a $20.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, September 5th. BlackRock's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 50.39%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently commented on BLK shares. Citigroup upped their target price on BlackRock from $1,200.00 to $1,350.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, September 29th. Bank of America increased their price target on BlackRock from $1,224.00 to $1,396.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 2nd. Zacks Research downgraded BlackRock from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 14th. Barclays increased their price target on BlackRock from $1,210.00 to $1,310.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price target on BlackRock from $1,224.00 to $1,362.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, BlackRock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $1,254.47.

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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