Prudential PLC Sells 839 Shares of BlackRock $BLK

Key Points

• Prudential PLC reduced its stake in BlackRock by 25.8% during Q1, holding 2,411 shares valued at approximately $2.28 million.
• Several investors increased their positions, with 80.69% of BlackRock stock currently owned by institutional investors amid various ratings and price target increases from analysts.
• BlackRock announced a quarterly dividend of $5.21 per share, resulting in an annualized yield of 1.8%, as the company reported a revenue increase of 12.9% year-over-year.

Prudential PLC decreased its position in shares of BlackRock (NYSE:BLK - Free Report) by 25.8% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 2,411 shares of the asset manager's stock after selling 839 shares during the period. Prudential PLC's holdings in BlackRock were worth $2,282,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Investment Management Corp VA ADV acquired a new position in BlackRock in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Fairway Wealth LLC boosted its position in shares of BlackRock by 76.5% during the first quarter. Fairway Wealth LLC now owns 30 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 13 shares during the period. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in BlackRock during the 1st quarter worth $31,000. Cheviot Value Management LLC bought a new position in shares of BlackRock in the first quarter worth $30,000. Finally, CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC acquired a new stake in shares of BlackRock in the first quarter worth $34,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.69% of the company's stock.

BlackRock Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:BLK traded down $7.4870 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $1,128.6330. 129,733 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 759,733. 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's fifty day simple moving average is $1,074.33 and its 200-day simple moving average is $989.18. BlackRock has a 1-year low of $773.74 and a 1-year high of $1,171.89. The company has a market capitalization of $174.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 1.42.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, July 15th. The asset manager reported $12.05 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $10.41 by $1.64. The company had revenue of $5.42 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.40 billion. BlackRock had a net margin of 29.68% and a return on equity of 15.53%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $10.36 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 12.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts expect that BlackRock will post 47.41 EPS for the current fiscal year.

BlackRock Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 23rd. Investors of record on Friday, September 5th will be issued a $5.21 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 5th. This represents a $20.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.8%. BlackRock's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 50.39%.

Insider Activity at BlackRock

In other BlackRock news, Director J. Richard Kushel sold 17,142 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 30th. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at approximately $68,763,964.50. The trade was a 21.83% decrease in their position. The transaction 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 business's 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 directly owned 3,506 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,936,571.86. This represents a 55.84% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 66,494 shares of company stock worth $74,694,573. Company insiders own 1.98% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the company. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on BlackRock from $959.00 to $1,210.00 in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. Barclays upped their target price on BlackRock from $990.00 to $1,220.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. Telsey Advisory Group restated an "outperform" rating on shares of BlackRock in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price 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. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price 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. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, BlackRock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $1,151.21.

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.