American Century Companies Inc. Sells 3,406 Shares of BlackRock $BLK

Key Points

• American Century Companies Inc. has reduced its holdings in BlackRock by 1.1%, owning about 299,233 shares worth approximately $283 million.
• BlackRock CEO Laurence Fink sold 12,054 shares of the company, decreasing his holdings by 4.57% and valuing his remaining shares at around $283 million.
• BlackRock's most recent quarterly earnings report showed earnings of $12.05 per share, exceeding analysts' expectations, alongside a revenue of $5.42 billion.

American Century Companies Inc. trimmed its holdings in shares of BlackRock (NYSE:BLK - Free Report) by 1.1% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 299,233 shares of the asset manager's stock after selling 3,406 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. owned about 0.19% of BlackRock worth $283,218,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Fairway Wealth LLC increased its stake in shares of BlackRock by 76.5% during the 1st quarter. Fairway Wealth LLC now owns 30 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 13 shares in the last quarter. Investment Management Corp VA ADV purchased a new stake in BlackRock in the 4th quarter worth approximately $30,000. Cheviot Value Management LLC purchased a new stake in BlackRock in the 1st quarter worth approximately $30,000. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of BlackRock during the 1st quarter valued at $31,000. Finally, CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC purchased a new stake in shares of BlackRock during the 1st quarter valued at $34,000. 80.69% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at BlackRock

In other BlackRock news, Director J. Richard Kushel sold 17,142 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the director owned 61,369 shares in the company, valued at approximately $68,763,964.50. This represents a 21.83% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Fabrizio Freda sold 4,434 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,122.81, for a total transaction of $4,978,539.54. Following the completion of the transaction, the director 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. Insiders have sold a total of 66,494 shares of company stock worth $74,694,573 in the last 90 days. 1.98% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on BLK shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of BlackRock from $1,018.00 to $1,093.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 16th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective 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. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $1,115.00 price objective on shares of BlackRock in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. Zacks Research lowered shares of BlackRock from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, August 14th. Finally, Bank of America boosted their price objective 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. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $1,151.21.

BlackRock Price Performance

BLK stock traded down $8.3170 on Tuesday, hitting $1,127.8030. 522,686 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 762,062. BlackRock has a 1-year low of $773.74 and a 1-year high of $1,171.89. The stock has a market cap of $174.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.27, a P/E/G ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 1.42. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $1,074.33 and a 200-day 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 (NYSE:BLK - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly 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 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 15.53%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 12.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $10.36 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that BlackRock will post 47.41 EPS for the current fiscal year.

BlackRock Dividend Announcement

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

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.