Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc. Purchases 4,171 Shares of BlackRock $BLK

Key Points

• Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc. increased its stake in BlackRock by 89.4%, owning 8,834 shares valued at approximately $8.36 million after acquiring 4,171 additional shares in Q1.
• BlackRock's recent earnings report showed an impressive earnings per share (EPS) of $12.05, surpassing estimates, alongside a revenue of $5.42 billion, an increase of 12.9% year over year.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $5.21, yielding 1.8% annually, to be paid on September 23, with a payout ratio of 50.39%.

Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc. boosted its stake in BlackRock (NYSE:BLK - Free Report) by 89.4% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 8,834 shares of the asset manager's stock after buying an additional 4,171 shares during the period. Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc.'s holdings in BlackRock were worth $8,361,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in BLK. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of BlackRock by 2.9% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 13,764,072 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $13,027,419,000 after buying an additional 387,466 shares during the period. Capital World Investors raised its position in BlackRock by 2.3% during the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 4,097,524 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $4,200,450,000 after acquiring an additional 93,844 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in BlackRock by 104,598.9% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 3,500,083 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $3,312,759,000 after acquiring an additional 3,496,740 shares in the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its position in BlackRock by 18.6% during the fourth quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 2,100,163 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $2,152,907,000 after acquiring an additional 329,244 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp raised its position in BlackRock by 20.6% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,591,716 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $1,631,684,000 after acquiring an additional 272,176 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.69% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at BlackRock

In other 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 sale, the director owned 19,205 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $21,617,148. This represents a 48.43% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Fabrizio Freda sold 4,434 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 24th. The shares were 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 $3,936,571.86. This represents a 55.84% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 66,494 shares of company stock valued at $74,694,573 over the last quarter. Insiders own 1.98% of the company's stock.

BlackRock Trading Down 0.8%

Shares of NYSE:BLK traded down $8.6530 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $1,127.4670. The stock had a trading volume of 249,459 shares, compared to its average volume of 760,490. The firm has a market cap of $174.59 billion, a PE ratio of 27.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 1.42. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $1,074.33 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $989.18. The company has a current ratio of 4.04, a quick ratio of 4.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39. BlackRock has a twelve month low of $773.74 and a twelve month high of $1,171.89.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 15th. The asset manager reported $12.05 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $10.41 by $1.64. BlackRock had a net margin of 29.68% and a return on equity of 15.53%. The business had revenue of $5.42 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.40 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $10.36 EPS. BlackRock's revenue for the quarter was up 12.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts predict that BlackRock will post 47.41 EPS for the current fiscal year.

BlackRock Announces Dividend

The firm 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 dividend of $5.21 per share. This represents a $20.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 5th. BlackRock's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 50.39%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on BLK shares. Barclays raised their price objective 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. Wall Street Zen raised shares of BlackRock to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, May 24th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on shares of BlackRock from $1,180.00 to $1,170.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 16th. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of BlackRock in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. Finally, Argus reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of BlackRock in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $1,151.21.

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.