Jefferies Financial Group Inc. Increases Stake in BlackRock (NYSE:BLK)

Key Points

• Jefferies Financial Group Inc. significantly increased its holdings in BlackRock by 2,812.8%, acquiring a total of 6,146 shares worth approximately $5.8 million.
• BlackRock's stock recently reported a quarterly earnings per share of $12.05, exceeding analyst expectations, with revenue also up 12.9% year-over-year.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $5.21 per share, representing a 1.9% yield, with a current payout ratio of 50.39%.

Jefferies Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in BlackRock (NYSE:BLK - Free Report) by 2,812.8% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 6,146 shares of the asset manager's stock after buying an additional 5,935 shares during the period. Jefferies Financial Group Inc.'s holdings in BlackRock were worth $5,817,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the business. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in shares of BlackRock by 104,598.9% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 3,500,083 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $3,312,759,000 after purchasing an additional 3,496,740 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its position in shares of BlackRock by 401.5% during the 4th quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 1,095,241 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $1,122,743,000 after purchasing an additional 876,836 shares in the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of BlackRock during the 4th quarter valued at $572,730,000. Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its position in shares of BlackRock by 18.6% during the 4th quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 2,100,163 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $2,152,907,000 after purchasing an additional 329,244 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp grew its position in shares of BlackRock by 20.6% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,591,716 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $1,631,684,000 after purchasing an additional 272,176 shares in the last quarter. 80.69% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other BlackRock news, Director Rachel Lord sold 18,036 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,125.60, for a total value of $20,301,321.60. Following the transaction, the director owned 19,205 shares in the company, valued at approximately $21,617,148. The trade was a 48.43% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Laurence Fink sold 14,828 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,122.28, for a total transaction of $16,641,167.84. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 263,751 shares in the company, valued at $296,002,472.28. This represents a 5.32% 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 ninety days. 1.98% of the stock is owned by insiders.

BlackRock Trading Down 1.3%

BlackRock stock traded down $14.72 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $1,091.29. The company's stock had a trading volume of 672,794 shares, compared to its average volume of 679,700. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38, a current ratio of 4.34 and a quick ratio of 4.34. The stock has a market cap of $169.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 1.42. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $1,040.67 and a 200-day moving average price of $981.35. BlackRock has a 12 month low of $773.74 and a 12 month high of $1,130.66.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly 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. The business had revenue of $5.42 billion during 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 15.83%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 12.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $10.36 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that BlackRock will post 47.41 EPS for the current year.

BlackRock Announces Dividend

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently commented on BLK. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of BlackRock from $990.00 to $1,220.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $1,115.00 price objective on shares of BlackRock in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of BlackRock in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on shares of BlackRock from $1,247.00 to $1,224.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 16th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on shares of BlackRock from $959.00 to $1,210.00 in a report on Thursday, July 10th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average 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.