Ethic Inc. Sells 486 Shares of BlackRock $BLK

Key Points

• Ethic Inc. reduced its holdings in BlackRock by 3.8%, owning 12,139 shares valued at $11.46 million after selling 486 shares in the first quarter.
• Several institutional investors, including Vanguard Group and Ameriprise Financial, have increased their stakes in BlackRock, highlighting significant interest, with 80.69% of the stock owned by institutional investors.
• BlackRock's earnings report showed earnings per share of $12.05, significantly beating expectations, and the company announced a quarterly dividend of $5.21 per share, reflecting a 1.8% yield.

Ethic Inc. lowered its position in BlackRock (NYSE:BLK - Free Report) by 3.8% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 12,139 shares of the asset manager's stock after selling 486 shares during the period. Ethic Inc.'s holdings in BlackRock were worth $11,460,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of BLK. Brighton Jones LLC raised its position in BlackRock by 23.1% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 1,575 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $1,615,000 after purchasing an additional 296 shares during the last quarter. CreativeOne Wealth LLC bought a new position in BlackRock in the 4th quarter worth approximately $742,000. Jump Financial LLC raised its position in BlackRock by 1.6% in the 4th quarter. Jump Financial LLC now owns 786 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $806,000 after purchasing an additional 12 shares during the last quarter. Capital Square LLC raised its position in BlackRock by 12.7% in the 4th quarter. Capital Square LLC now owns 248 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $253,000 after purchasing an additional 28 shares during the last quarter. Finally, First Commonwealth Financial Corp PA raised its position in BlackRock by 3.0% in the 4th quarter. First Commonwealth Financial Corp PA now owns 1,112 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $1,140,000 after purchasing an additional 32 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.69% of the company's stock.

BlackRock Stock Up 0.1%

NYSE BLK traded up $1.34 on Monday, reaching $1,136.35. The company had a trading volume of 405,809 shares, compared to its average volume of 500,335. The firm has a market capitalization of $175.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 1.42. 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 $1,171.89. The company's fifty day moving average is $1,071.38 and its 200-day moving average is $988.76.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK - Get Free Report) last announced 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 analyst estimates of $5.40 billion. BlackRock had a net margin of 29.68% and a return on equity of 15.53%. The company'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 business earned $10.36 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that BlackRock will post 47.41 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

BlackRock Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Buying and Selling at BlackRock

In other BlackRock news, CEO Laurence Fink sold 12,054 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,125.43, for a total transaction of $13,565,933.22. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 251,697 shares of the company's stock, valued at $283,267,354.71. The trade was a 4.57% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a 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 directly 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. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 66,494 shares of company stock valued at $74,694,573. Corporate insiders own 1.98% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have commented on BLK shares. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of BlackRock in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on shares of BlackRock from $959.00 to $1,210.00 in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. UBS Group reiterated a "neutral" rating and set a $980.00 target price on shares of BlackRock in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Bank of America upped their target price on shares of BlackRock from $1,214.00 to $1,224.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 16th. Finally, Argus reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of BlackRock in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, BlackRock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $1,151.21.

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.