Atria Investments Inc Reduces Stock Holdings in BlackRock (NYSE:BLK)

Key Points

• Atria Investments Inc reduced its holdings in BlackRock by 3.6%, selling 541 shares, and now owns 14,288 shares valued at approximately $13.5 million.
• BlackRock's stock price increased by 0.5% to $1,123.48, with a market capitalization of $174.06 billion and a one-year high of $1,130.66.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $5.21 per share, yielding 1.85%, with payout scheduled for September 23rd for shareholders of record on September 5th.

Atria Investments Inc decreased its position in BlackRock (NYSE:BLK - Free Report) by 3.6% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 14,288 shares of the asset manager's stock after selling 541 shares during the quarter. Atria Investments Inc's holdings in BlackRock were worth $13,523,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of BLK. Lifeworks Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of BlackRock during the first quarter valued at about $213,000. Journey Strategic Wealth LLC increased its position in shares of BlackRock by 2.9% during the first quarter. Journey Strategic Wealth LLC now owns 701 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $663,000 after buying an additional 20 shares during the period. Advisor OS LLC increased its position in shares of BlackRock by 20.4% during the first quarter. Advisor OS LLC now owns 802 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $759,000 after buying an additional 136 shares during the period. Kovack Advisors Inc. increased its position in shares of BlackRock by 136.1% during the first quarter. Kovack Advisors Inc. now owns 1,905 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $1,803,000 after buying an additional 1,098 shares during the period. Finally, AJ Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of BlackRock by 3.9% during the first quarter. AJ Advisors LLC now owns 458 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $433,000 after buying an additional 17 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.69% of the company's stock.

BlackRock Price Performance

BLK traded up $5.11 during trading on Friday, hitting $1,123.48. 516,296 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 672,644. BlackRock has a 1 year low of $773.74 and a 1 year high of $1,130.66. The company has a market cap of $174.06 billion, a PE ratio of 27.16, a P/E/G ratio of 2.27 and a beta of 1.41. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $1,027.64 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $976.73. The company has a current ratio of 4.34, a quick ratio of 4.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 15th. The asset manager reported $12.05 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $10.41 by $1.64. BlackRock had a net margin of 29.68% and a return on equity of 15.83%. The business had revenue of $5.42 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $5.40 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $10.36 EPS. The business's revenue was up 12.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that BlackRock will post 47.41 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

BlackRock Dividend Announcement

The firm 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. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 5th. This represents a $20.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.85%. BlackRock's payout ratio is currently 50.39%.

Insider Transactions at BlackRock

In other news, Director Fabrizio Freda sold 4,434 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, the director owned 3,506 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,936,571.86. This trade represents a 55.84% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Rachel Lord sold 18,036 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,125.60, for a total transaction of $20,301,321.60. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 19,205 shares of the company's stock, valued at $21,617,148. This trade represents a 48.43% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 49,352 shares of company stock worth $55,486,962. 1.98% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price objective on shares of BlackRock from $1,247.00 to $1,224.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 16th. UBS Group reissued a "neutral" rating and set a $980.00 price objective on shares of BlackRock in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Argus reissued a "buy" rating on shares of BlackRock in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Citigroup dropped their price objective on shares of BlackRock from $1,200.00 to $1,100.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Finally, TD Cowen dropped their price objective on shares of BlackRock from $1,251.00 to $1,032.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target 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.