Public Sector Pension Investment Board Acquires 1,133 Shares of BlackRock (NYSE:BLK)

Key Points

• The Public Sector Pension Investment Board increased its stake in BlackRock by 3.0%, acquiring an additional 1,133 shares during the first quarter, bringing its total holdings to 38,900 shares valued at approximately $36.8 million.
• Several hedge funds modified their holdings in BlackRock, with Bessemer Group and Brighton Jones LLC boosting their stakes significantly by 35.3% and 23.1%, respectively, highlighting increased institutional interest in the company.
• BlackRock recently reported earnings of $12.05 per share for the last quarter, surpassing estimates, while also announcing a quarterly dividend of $5.21 per share, which reflects a yield of 1.9%.

Public Sector Pension Investment Board increased its stake in shares of BlackRock (NYSE:BLK - Free Report) by 3.0% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 38,900 shares of the asset manager's stock after acquiring an additional 1,133 shares during the quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board's holdings in BlackRock were worth $36,818,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in BLK. Fairway Wealth LLC grew its stake in shares of BlackRock by 76.5% in the 1st quarter. Fairway Wealth LLC now owns 30 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 13 shares in the last quarter. Investment Management Corp VA ADV bought a new position in BlackRock in the fourth quarter worth approximately $30,000. Cheviot Value Management LLC purchased a new stake in BlackRock in the first quarter worth about $30,000. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in BlackRock during the 1st quarter worth about $31,000. Finally, CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC purchased a new position in BlackRock during the 1st quarter valued at about $34,000. 80.69% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

BlackRock Trading Up 0.1%

BLK stock traded up $1.55 during trading on Thursday, reaching $1,161.58. 407,611 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 767,336. The business's 50 day moving average price is $1,064.92 and its 200-day moving average price is $988.28. The firm has a market capitalization of $179.96 billion, a PE ratio of 28.08, a P/E/G ratio of 2.33 and a beta of 1.42. BlackRock has a 52-week low of $773.74 and a 52-week high of $1,171.89. 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 (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 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 the consensus estimate of $5.40 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $10.36 EPS. The company's revenue was up 12.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that BlackRock will post 47.41 earnings per share for the current year.

BlackRock Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed 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. This represents a $20.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 5th. BlackRock's payout ratio is currently 50.39%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have commented on BLK shares. Bank of America boosted their target price on shares of BlackRock from $1,214.00 to $1,224.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 16th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of BlackRock to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, May 24th. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $1,115.00 price target on shares of BlackRock in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on BlackRock from $959.00 to $1,210.00 in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. Finally, Argus restated a "buy" rating on shares of BlackRock in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, BlackRock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $1,151.21.

Insider Transactions at BlackRock

In other BlackRock news, Director Fabrizio Freda sold 4,434 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the director owned 3,506 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,936,571.86. The trade was a 55.84% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director J. Richard Kushel sold 17,142 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the director owned 61,369 shares in the company, valued at $68,763,964.50. This represents a 21.83% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders 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 currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.