CenterBook Partners LP Sells 999 Shares of BlackRock (NYSE:BLK)

Key Points

• CenterBook Partners LP has reduced its holdings in BlackRock by 57.7% during the first quarter, selling 999 shares and holding 732 shares worth approximately $693,000.
• BlackRock reported earnings of $12.05 per share, exceeding analysts' expectations, and had a revenue increase of 12.9% year-over-year, reaching $5.42 billion.
• The company has announced a quarterly dividend of $5.21 per share, representing an annualized dividend yield of 1.9%.

CenterBook Partners LP lowered its position in BlackRock (NYSE:BLK - Free Report) by 57.7% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 732 shares of the asset manager's stock after selling 999 shares during the period. CenterBook Partners LP's holdings in BlackRock were worth $693,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Detalus Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of BlackRock by 2.8% during the first quarter. Detalus Advisors LLC now owns 409 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $387,000 after acquiring an additional 11 shares in the last quarter. Blue Bell Private Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of BlackRock by 20.4% during the first quarter. Blue Bell Private Wealth Management LLC now owns 65 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $62,000 after acquiring an additional 11 shares in the last quarter. Jump Financial LLC raised its stake in shares of BlackRock by 1.6% during the fourth quarter. Jump Financial LLC now owns 786 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $806,000 after acquiring an additional 12 shares in the last quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC raised its stake in shares of BlackRock by 2.1% during the first quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC now owns 579 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $548,000 after acquiring an additional 12 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Financial Management Professionals Inc. increased its holdings in BlackRock by 3.0% during the first quarter. Financial Management Professionals Inc. now owns 451 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $427,000 after buying an additional 13 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 80.69% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Bank of America lifted their price objective on shares of BlackRock from $1,214.00 to $1,224.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 16th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of BlackRock to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, May 24th. Argus reissued a "buy" rating on shares of BlackRock in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut 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 report on Wednesday, July 16th. Finally, UBS Group reissued a "neutral" rating and set a $980.00 price objective on shares of BlackRock in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, BlackRock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $1,151.21.

BlackRock Price Performance

Shares of BLK opened at $1,113.87 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $172.57 billion, a PE ratio of 26.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.25 and a beta of 1.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38, a current ratio of 4.34 and a quick ratio of 4.34. BlackRock has a 1-year low of $773.74 and a 1-year high of $1,131.93. The company's fifty day moving average price is $1,052.01 and its 200-day moving average price is $984.72.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 15th. The asset manager reported $12.05 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates 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 15.83%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 12.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $10.36 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that BlackRock will post 47.41 EPS for the current year.

BlackRock Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 23rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 5th will be given 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 1.9%. BlackRock's dividend payout ratio is 50.39%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Rachel Lord sold 18,036 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 25th. The shares were 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. The trade was a 48.43% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Laurence Fink sold 14,828 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,122.28, for a total transaction of $16,641,167.84. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 263,751 shares of the company's stock, valued at $296,002,472.28. This represents a 5.32% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 66,494 shares of company stock worth $74,694,573. 1.98% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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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