SRN Advisors LLC Trims Holdings in BlackRock $BLK

Key Points

• SRN Advisors LLC has reduced its stake in BlackRock by 29%, now holding 745 shares worth approximately $705,000 following the sale of 304 shares.
• Directors of BlackRock, including Rachel Lord and Fabrizio Freda, have sold significant portions of their stock, indicating a combined decrease in ownership of 48.43% and 55.84% respectively.
• BlackRock announced a quarterly dividend of $5.21 per share, with a payout ratio of 50.39% and a dividend yield of 1.8%.

SRN Advisors LLC reduced its position in BlackRock (NYSE:BLK - Free Report) by 29.0% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 745 shares of the asset manager's stock after selling 304 shares during the period. SRN Advisors LLC's holdings in BlackRock were worth $705,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vident Advisory LLC boosted its stake in shares of BlackRock by 60.3% during the 1st quarter. Vident Advisory LLC now owns 2,972 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $2,813,000 after acquiring an additional 1,118 shares in the last quarter. Gordian Capital Singapore Pte Ltd purchased a new position in shares of BlackRock in the 1st quarter valued at about $95,000. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board raised its holdings in BlackRock by 25.9% in the 1st quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 183,814 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $173,976,000 after purchasing an additional 37,759 shares during the period. GKV Capital Management Co. Inc. boosted its position in BlackRock by 11.3% during the first quarter. GKV Capital Management Co. Inc. now owns 1,775 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $1,680,000 after purchasing an additional 180 shares in the last quarter. Finally, WPG Advisers LLC acquired a new stake in BlackRock in the first quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.69% of the company's stock.

BlackRock Price Performance

Shares of BLK stock traded down $13.50 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $1,113.64. The company had a trading volume of 391,296 shares, compared to its average volume of 744,455. BlackRock has a 12-month low of $773.74 and a 12-month high of $1,171.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a quick ratio of 4.04 and a current ratio of 4.04. The company has a market capitalization of $172.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.93, a PEG ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 1.45. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $1,104.65 and a 200-day moving average of $998.85.

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 return on equity of 15.53% and a net margin of 29.68%.The business had revenue of $5.42 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.40 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $10.36 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up 12.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts anticipate that BlackRock will post 47.41 earnings per share for the current year.

BlackRock Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 23rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 5th will be paid a $5.21 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 5th. This represents a $20.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.9%. BlackRock's dividend payout ratio is 50.39%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

BLK has been the subject of several research analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on BlackRock from $1,018.00 to $1,093.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 16th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on shares of BlackRock from $1,180.00 to $1,170.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 16th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of BlackRock to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, May 24th. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on shares of BlackRock from $1,247.00 to $1,224.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 16th. Finally, UBS Group reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and issued a $980.00 price target on shares of BlackRock in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, BlackRock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $1,151.21.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Rachel Lord sold 18,036 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,125.60, for a total value of $20,301,321.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 19,205 shares in the company, valued at approximately $21,617,148. This represents a 48.43% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Fabrizio Freda sold 4,434 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction 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 sale, the director directly 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 position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 66,494 shares of company stock worth $74,694,573. Corporate insiders own 1.98% of the company's stock.

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.