BlackRock $BLK Shares Sold by Procyon Advisors LLC

Key Points

• Procyon Advisors LLC significantly reduced its stake in BlackRock by 67.6%, holding only 270 shares after selling 563 shares, valued at approximately $283,000.
• BlackRock reported quarterly earnings per share of $12.05, exceeding analysts' expectations of $10.41, contributing to a year-over-year revenue increase of 12.9%.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $5.21 per share, with an ex-dividend date of September 5, representing an annual yield of 1.8%.

Procyon Advisors LLC lessened its position in shares of BlackRock (NYSE:BLK - Free Report) by 67.6% in the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 270 shares of the asset manager's stock after selling 563 shares during the period. Procyon Advisors LLC's holdings in BlackRock were worth $283,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Mirador Capital Partners LP raised its stake in BlackRock by 1.4% during the second quarter. Mirador Capital Partners LP now owns 5,822 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $6,109,000 after buying an additional 82 shares during the last quarter. Hummer Financial Advisory Services Inc raised its stake in BlackRock by 4.7% during the second quarter. Hummer Financial Advisory Services Inc now owns 785 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $824,000 after buying an additional 35 shares during the last quarter. Balefire LLC bought a new stake in BlackRock in the second quarter valued at $264,000. Parkside Advisors LLC bought a new stake in BlackRock in the second quarter valued at $213,000. Finally, Czech National Bank increased its stake in BlackRock by 6.5% in the second quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 35,597 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $37,350,000 after purchasing an additional 2,159 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.69% of the company's stock.

BlackRock Stock Up 0.5%

Shares of BLK stock traded up $5.41 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $1,141.62. The company's stock had a trading volume of 69,466 shares, compared to its average volume of 726,300. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a current ratio of 4.04 and a quick ratio of 4.04. The company has a market capitalization of $176.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.61, a P/E/G ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 1.45. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $1,120.31 and its 200 day moving average price is $1,014.87. 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 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. BlackRock had a net margin of 29.68% and a return on equity of 15.53%. The company had revenue of $5.42 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $5.40 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $10.36 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 12.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts anticipate that BlackRock will post 47.41 EPS for the current year.

BlackRock Dividend Announcement

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have weighed in on BLK. 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. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their target price on shares of BlackRock from $1,247.00 to $1,224.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 16th. UBS Group reissued a "neutral" rating and set a $980.00 target price on shares of BlackRock in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Zacks Research downgraded shares of BlackRock from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 14th. Finally, Barclays boosted their target price on shares of BlackRock from $990.00 to $1,220.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $1,154.07.

Insider Activity at BlackRock

In related news, Director Rachel Lord sold 18,036 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, July 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,125.60, for a total value of $20,301,321.60. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 19,205 shares in the company, valued at $21,617,148. This represents a 48.43% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Fabrizio Freda sold 4,434 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the director directly owned 3,506 shares in the company, valued at $3,936,571.86. This represents a 55.84% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 66,494 shares of company stock worth $74,694,573 over the last 90 days. 1.98% of the stock is 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.