Comerica Bank Buys New Shares in BlackRock $BLK

Key Points

• Comerica Bank has acquired a new position in BlackRock, purchasing 52,809 shares valued at approximately $49.98 million in the first quarter.
• BlackRock's stock recently saw an increase of 2.1%, with its shares opening at $1,147.87 and having a market capitalization of $177.75 billion.
• The asset manager reported a quarterly earnings per share of $12.05, exceeding analysts' expectations, and announced a quarterly dividend of $5.21 per share, to be paid on September 23rd.

Comerica Bank purchased a new position in shares of BlackRock (NYSE:BLK - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 52,809 shares of the asset manager's stock, valued at approximately $49,982,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of BlackRock by 2.9% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 13,764,072 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $13,027,419,000 after purchasing an additional 387,466 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in shares of BlackRock by 104,598.9% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 3,500,083 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $3,312,759,000 after purchasing an additional 3,496,740 shares during the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its stake in shares of BlackRock by 18.6% in the 4th quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 2,100,163 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $2,152,907,000 after purchasing an additional 329,244 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp grew its stake in shares of BlackRock by 20.6% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,591,716 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $1,631,684,000 after purchasing an additional 272,176 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of BlackRock by 32.8% in the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 1,131,919 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $1,071,339,000 after purchasing an additional 279,336 shares during the last quarter. 80.69% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have weighed in on the company. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on BlackRock from $1,247.00 to $1,224.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 16th. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of BlackRock in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on BlackRock from $1,018.00 to $1,093.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 16th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of BlackRock to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, May 24th. Finally, Barclays increased their price target on shares of BlackRock from $990.00 to $1,220.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, July 10th. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $1,151.21.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Laurence Fink sold 12,054 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, July 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,125.43, for a total value of $13,565,933.22. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 251,697 shares in the company, valued at $283,267,354.71. This represents a 4.57% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director J. Richard Kushel sold 17,142 shares of the company'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 sale, the director owned 61,369 shares in the company, valued at $68,763,964.50. This represents a 21.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 66,494 shares of company stock valued at $74,694,573 over the last three months. Insiders own 1.98% of the company's stock.

BlackRock Price Performance

BLK stock traded down $1.13 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $1,130.50. 475,131 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 748,970. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $1,095.68 and its 200-day moving average price is $995.51. The stock has a market cap of $175.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.33, a PEG ratio of 2.18 and a beta of 1.42. BlackRock has a fifty-two week low of $773.74 and a fifty-two week high of $1,171.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a quick ratio of 4.04 and a current ratio of 4.04.

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

BlackRock Dividend Announcement

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

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.