BlackRock $BLK Stake Lowered by Stock Yards Bank & Trust Co.

Key Points

• Stock Yards Bank & Trust Co. has reduced its stake in BlackRock by 1.7%, now holding 35,707 shares valued at approximately $37.47 million.
• Institutional ownership in BlackRock is robust, with around 80.69% of the stock held by institutions, while insiders have sold a total of over $74 million worth of shares in the past quarter.
• Several analysts have given BlackRock a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy," with price targets ranging from $980 to $1,396.

Stock Yards Bank & Trust Co. cut its stake in shares of BlackRock (NYSE:BLK - Free Report) by 1.7% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 35,707 shares of the asset manager's stock after selling 618 shares during the quarter. BlackRock makes up 1.3% of Stock Yards Bank & Trust Co.'s portfolio, making the stock its 24th largest holding. Stock Yards Bank & Trust Co.'s holdings in BlackRock were worth $37,466,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Barrett & Company Inc. grew its holdings in shares of BlackRock by 1,500.0% during the second quarter. Barrett & Company Inc. now owns 64 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $67,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares during the last quarter. New Century Financial Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of BlackRock by 40.4% during the second quarter. New Century Financial Group LLC now owns 337 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $354,000 after purchasing an additional 97 shares during the last quarter. Quattro Financial Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of BlackRock by 121.8% during the second quarter. Quattro Financial Advisors LLC now owns 1,231 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $1,292,000 after purchasing an additional 676 shares during the last quarter. Mattern Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of BlackRock by 0.6% during the second quarter. Mattern Capital Management LLC now owns 10,080 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $10,576,000 after purchasing an additional 62 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ashton Thomas Securities LLC grew its holdings in shares of BlackRock by 4.7% during the second quarter. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC now owns 223 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $234,000 after purchasing an additional 10 shares during the last quarter. 80.69% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Fabrizio Freda sold 4,434 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,122.81, for a total transaction of $4,978,539.54. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 3,506 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,936,571.86. This represents a 55.84% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director J. Richard Kushel sold 17,142 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 sale, the director owned 61,369 shares of the company's stock, valued at $68,763,964.50. This trade represents a 21.83% decrease in their position. 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 quarter. 1.98% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on BLK. BMO Capital Markets began coverage on BlackRock in a report on Friday. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $1,280.00 price objective for the company. UBS Group reissued a "neutral" rating and issued a $980.00 price objective on shares of BlackRock in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. Weiss Ratings reissued a "buy (b-)" rating on shares of BlackRock in a report on Saturday, September 27th. Bank of America increased their price objective on BlackRock from $1,224.00 to $1,396.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on BlackRock from $1,163.00 to $1,312.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday. Fourteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $1,213.67.

BlackRock Stock Performance

BLK opened at $1,160.75 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $179.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 1.45. 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 has a 1-year low of $773.74 and a 1-year high of $1,183.50. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $1,129.67 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $1,027.68.

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, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $10.41 by $1.64. The firm had revenue of $5.42 billion during 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 firm's revenue for the quarter was up 12.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $10.36 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that BlackRock will post 47.41 EPS for the current fiscal year.

BlackRock Dividend Announcement

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

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.

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