BlackRock $BLK Shares Sold by Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management UK Ltd.

Key Points

• Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management UK Ltd. reduced its stake in BlackRock by 21.4%, now holding 1,100 shares valued at approximately $1.15 million.
• Several hedge funds, including Garde Capital Inc. and Fairway Wealth LLC, made significant increases in their positions in BlackRock during the recent quarters.
• BlackRock's CEO Laurence Fink sold over 14,800 shares worth $16.64 million, indicating a 5.32% decrease in his ownership of the company.

Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management UK Ltd. cut its stake in BlackRock (NYSE:BLK - Free Report) by 21.4% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,100 shares of the asset manager's stock after selling 300 shares during the period. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management UK Ltd.'s holdings in BlackRock were worth $1,154,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Garde Capital Inc. increased its stake in BlackRock by 200.0% during the 2nd quarter. Garde Capital Inc. now owns 27 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 18 shares during the period. Fairway Wealth LLC boosted its position 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 purchasing an additional 13 shares during the period. Game Plan Financial Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of BlackRock by 100.0% in the first quarter. Game Plan Financial Advisors LLC now owns 30 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 15 shares in the last quarter. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in BlackRock during the 1st quarter valued at $31,000. Finally, Cheviot Value Management LLC purchased a new stake in BlackRock in the 1st quarter worth about $30,000. Institutional investors own 80.69% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have commented on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a "buy" rating and issued a $1,115.00 target price on shares of BlackRock in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of BlackRock from $1,018.00 to $1,093.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 16th. Evercore ISI upped their price target on BlackRock from $1,170.00 to $1,200.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, September 5th. Barclays increased their target price on shares of BlackRock from $990.00 to $1,220.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on shares of BlackRock from $1,247.00 to $1,224.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 16th. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, BlackRock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $1,171.93.

Insider Transactions at BlackRock

In related news, CEO Laurence Fink sold 14,828 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,122.28, for a total transaction of $16,641,167.84. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 263,751 shares in the company, valued at $296,002,472.28. This trade represents a 5.32% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Rachel Lord sold 18,036 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,125.60, for a total transaction of $20,301,321.60. Following the sale, the director owned 19,205 shares in the company, valued at $21,617,148. This trade represents a 48.43% decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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 90 days. Insiders own 1.98% of the company's stock.

BlackRock Price Performance

BlackRock stock opened at $1,166.35 on Wednesday. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $1,127.65 and its 200-day simple moving average is $1,024.07. 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 $1,183.50. The company has a market capitalization of $180.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.25 and a beta of 1.45.

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

BlackRock Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed 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 was Friday, September 5th. BlackRock's payout ratio is currently 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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