First Western Trust Bank Has $3.94 Million Stock Holdings in BlackRock (NYSE:BLK)

Key Points

• First Western Trust Bank reduced its holdings in BlackRock by 5.7% during the first quarter, owning 4,158 shares valued at approximately $3.9 million.
• Insiders at BlackRock have sold a total of 66,494 shares worth around $74.7 million in the last 90 days, with significant sell-offs from directors Richard Kushel and Fabrizio Freda.
• BlackRock's quarterly earnings surpassed expectations, reporting $12.05 EPS against a forecast of $10.41, contributing to a year-over-year revenue increase of 12.9%.

First Western Trust Bank reduced its stake in shares of BlackRock (NYSE:BLK - Free Report) by 5.7% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 4,158 shares of the asset manager's stock after selling 252 shares during the quarter. First Western Trust Bank's holdings in BlackRock were worth $3,936,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Securian Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in BlackRock during the first quarter worth $7,331,000. Prudent Man Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of BlackRock during the first quarter worth $2,018,000. Arizona State Retirement System bought a new stake in shares of BlackRock during the first quarter worth $40,868,000. Allianz SE grew its holdings in shares of BlackRock by 2.6% during the first quarter. Allianz SE now owns 11,025 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $10,435,000 after purchasing an additional 277 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Polar Capital Holdings Plc bought a new stake in shares of BlackRock during the fourth quarter worth $15,307,000. 80.69% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

BlackRock Stock Up 0.3%

Shares of BLK stock traded up $3.49 during trading on Monday, reaching $1,128.46. The company's stock had a trading volume of 575,613 shares, compared to its average volume of 668,852. BlackRock has a one year low of $773.74 and a one year high of $1,133.07. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $1,054.94 and a 200-day moving average price of $985.12. The company has a market cap of $174.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.26 and a beta of 1.42. The company has a quick ratio of 4.04, a current 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 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $10.41 by $1.64. The firm had revenue of $5.42 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.40 billion. BlackRock had a net margin of 29.68% and a return on equity of 15.53%. The company's revenue was up 12.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $10.36 EPS. Analysts anticipate that BlackRock will post 47.41 earnings per share for the current year.

BlackRock Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently commented on BLK shares. UBS Group restated a "neutral" rating and set a $980.00 target price on shares of BlackRock in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of BlackRock from $1,018.00 to $1,093.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 16th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price target on BlackRock from $1,247.00 to $1,224.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 16th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on BlackRock from $959.00 to $1,210.00 in a report on Thursday, July 10th. Finally, Citigroup decreased their target price on BlackRock from $1,200.00 to $1,100.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $1,151.21.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Rachel Lord sold 18,036 shares of the business's 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 transaction of $20,301,321.60. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 19,205 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $21,617,148. The trade was a 48.43% 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, CEO Laurence Fink sold 14,828 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,122.28, for a total value of $16,641,167.84. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 263,751 shares in the company, valued at approximately $296,002,472.28. This trade represents a 5.32% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 66,494 shares of company stock worth $74,694,573 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 1.98% of the company's stock.

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.