Clarity Financial LLC Buys Shares of 7,988 BlackRock $BLK

Key Points

• Clarity Financial LLC acquired 7,988 shares of BlackRock for approximately $8.38 million during the second quarter, according to its Form 13F filing.
• BlackRock reported earnings per share of $12.05 for the most recent quarter, surpassing estimates and showing a 12.9% revenue growth year-over-year.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $5.21 per share, which represents a 1.8% yield based on an annual payout of $20.84.

Clarity Financial LLC bought a new stake in shares of BlackRock (NYSE:BLK - Free Report) during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 7,988 shares of the asset manager's stock, valued at approximately $8,382,000.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Securian Asset Management Inc. purchased a new position in BlackRock during the 1st quarter valued at about $7,331,000. Prudent Man Advisors LLC purchased a new position in BlackRock during the 1st quarter valued at about $2,018,000. Allianz SE increased its position in BlackRock by 2.6% during the 1st quarter. Allianz SE now owns 11,025 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $10,435,000 after purchasing an additional 277 shares during the period. Arizona State Retirement System purchased a new position in shares of BlackRock in the 1st quarter worth approximately $40,868,000. Finally, Community Financial Services Group LLC grew its position in shares of BlackRock by 17.2% in the 1st quarter. Community Financial Services Group LLC now owns 5,702 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $5,397,000 after buying an additional 836 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.69% of the company's stock.

BlackRock Stock Down 2.0%

NYSE:BLK opened at $1,142.33 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $176.89 billion, a PE ratio of 27.62, a P/E/G ratio of 2.23 and a beta of 1.45. BlackRock has a twelve month low of $773.74 and a twelve month high of $1,183.50. The company has a current ratio of 4.04, a quick ratio of 4.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39. The company's 50 day moving average is $1,128.09 and its two-hundred day moving average is $1,024.88.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, July 15th. The asset manager reported $12.05 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $10.41 by $1.64. The company had revenue of $5.42 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.40 billion. BlackRock had a net margin of 29.68% and a return on equity of 15.53%. BlackRock's revenue was up 12.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $10.36 EPS. Analysts anticipate that BlackRock will post 47.41 EPS for the current year.

BlackRock Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 23rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 5th were paid a dividend of $5.21 per share. This represents a $20.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 5th. BlackRock's payout ratio is presently 50.39%.

Insider Buying and Selling at BlackRock

In other BlackRock news, CEO Laurence Fink sold 12,054 shares of BlackRock stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,125.43, for a total transaction of $13,565,933.22. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 251,697 shares in the company, valued at approximately $283,267,354.71. The trade was a 4.57% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director J. Richard Kushel sold 17,142 shares of BlackRock stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,120.50, for a total transaction of $19,207,611.00. Following the sale, the director owned 61,369 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $68,763,964.50. The trade was a 21.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 66,494 shares of company stock valued at $74,694,573. 1.98% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on BLK shares. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on shares of BlackRock from $959.00 to $1,210.00 in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of BlackRock from $1,018.00 to $1,093.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 16th. Citigroup lifted their price objective on shares of BlackRock from $1,200.00 to $1,350.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of BlackRock from $990.00 to $1,220.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of BlackRock in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $1,171.93.

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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