BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) Shares Sold by iA Global Asset Management Inc.

Key Points

• iA Global Asset Management Inc. significantly reduced its holdings in BlackRock, cutting its position by 86.8%, now owning only 610 shares valued at approximately $577,000.
• Analysts have raised their price targets for BlackRock, with Barclays setting a target of $1,220 and Bank of America at $1,224, indicating strong confidence in the company's performance.
• BlackRock recently reported an earnings per share (EPS) of $12.05, exceeding estimates and showing a 12.9% increase in revenue compared to the previous year.

iA Global Asset Management Inc. reduced its position in shares of BlackRock (NYSE:BLK - Free Report) by 86.8% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 610 shares of the asset manager's stock after selling 4,015 shares during the period. iA Global Asset Management Inc.'s holdings in BlackRock were worth $577,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Investment Management Corp VA ADV acquired a new stake in shares of BlackRock during the fourth quarter valued at about $30,000. Fairway Wealth LLC increased its position in shares of BlackRock by 76.5% during the first quarter. Fairway Wealth LLC now owns 30 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 13 shares during the last quarter. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of BlackRock during the first quarter valued at about $31,000. Cheviot Value Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of BlackRock during the first quarter valued at about $30,000. Finally, CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC acquired a new stake in shares of BlackRock during the first quarter valued at about $34,000. 80.69% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have weighed in on BLK. Barclays lifted 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. Bank of America lifted their price target on shares of BlackRock from $1,214.00 to $1,224.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 16th. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $1,115.00 price target on shares of BlackRock in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of BlackRock to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, May 24th. Finally, UBS Group restated a "neutral" rating and issued a $980.00 price objective on shares of BlackRock in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $1,151.21.

BlackRock Stock Down 0.6%

Shares of BlackRock stock opened at $1,113.87 on Friday. BlackRock has a 52-week low of $773.74 and a 52-week high of $1,131.93. The company has a 50 day moving average of $1,052.01 and a 200 day moving average of $984.72. The company has a quick ratio of 4.34, a current ratio of 4.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38. The company has a market capitalization of $172.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.93, a P/E/G ratio of 2.25 and a beta of 1.42.

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, 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 company had revenue of $5.42 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.40 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $10.36 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 12.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts forecast that BlackRock will post 47.41 EPS for the current fiscal year.

BlackRock Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 23rd. Investors 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 yield of 1.9%. BlackRock's payout ratio is currently 50.39%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Laurence Fink sold 14,828 shares of BlackRock stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the chief executive officer owned 263,751 shares in the company, valued at $296,002,472.28. The trade was a 5.32% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Rachel Lord sold 18,036 shares of BlackRock 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 completion of the transaction, the director owned 19,205 shares of the company's stock, valued at $21,617,148. This represents a 48.43% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 66,494 shares of company stock worth $74,694,573 over the last three months. Insiders own 1.98% of the company's stock.

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.

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