Carnegie Investment Counsel Trims Holdings in BlackRock $BLK

Key Points

• Carnegie Investment Counsel has reduced its holdings in BlackRock by 2.2%, now owning 40,999 shares, making it their 24th largest position.
• Several major investors, including Vanguard Group and Goldman Sachs, have increased their stakes in BlackRock, indicating strong institutional confidence in the company.
• BlackRock's recent earnings report showed a 25.2% revenue growth year-over-year, despite missing EPS estimates, leading analysts to set higher price targets for the stock.

Carnegie Investment Counsel trimmed its position in BlackRock (NYSE:BLK - Free Report) by 2.2% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 40,999 shares of the asset manager's stock after selling 935 shares during the quarter. BlackRock comprises approximately 0.9% of Carnegie Investment Counsel's holdings, making the stock its 24th biggest position. Carnegie Investment Counsel's holdings in BlackRock were worth $43,019,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in BlackRock by 2.9% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 13,764,072 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $13,027,419,000 after acquiring an additional 387,466 shares in the last quarter. Royal Bank of Canada increased its holdings in BlackRock by 73.2% in the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 1,313,350 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $1,243,059,000 after acquiring an additional 555,098 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC increased its holdings in BlackRock by 10.2% in the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 1,206,935 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $1,142,340,000 after acquiring an additional 111,694 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its holdings in BlackRock by 32.8% in the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 1,131,919 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $1,071,339,000 after acquiring an additional 279,336 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. increased its holdings in BlackRock by 13.2% in the 1st quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 932,899 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $882,970,000 after acquiring an additional 108,473 shares in the last quarter. 80.69% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

BlackRock Trading Down 0.4%

BLK stock opened at $1,125.33 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $1,139.52 and a 200 day moving average price of $1,049.53. BlackRock has a fifty-two week low of $773.74 and a fifty-two week high of $1,219.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a quick ratio of 4.04 and a current ratio of 4.04. The firm has a market cap of $174.26 billion, a PE ratio of 28.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.95 and a beta of 1.45.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, October 14th. The asset manager reported $11.55 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $11.78 by ($0.23). BlackRock had a net margin of 26.64% and a return on equity of 15.36%. The business had revenue of $6.51 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $6.22 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $11.46 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 25.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that BlackRock will post 47.41 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently issued reports on BLK. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of BlackRock from $1,093.00 to $1,242.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, October 2nd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $1,320.00 price objective on shares of BlackRock and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 15th. Argus increased their price objective on shares of BlackRock from $1,165.00 to $1,330.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 15th. Bank of America increased their price objective on shares of BlackRock from $1,394.00 to $1,456.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 15th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on shares of BlackRock from $1,196.00 to $1,325.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, October 7th. Seventeen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $1,299.29.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director J. Richard Kushel sold 17,142 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 61,369 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $68,763,964.50. This trade represents a 21.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Rachel Lord sold 12,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, October 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,165.04, for a total transaction of $13,980,480.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 7,205 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $8,394,113.20. This trade represents a 62.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 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.

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