Community Bank & Trust Waco Texas Takes $2.08 Million Position in BlackRock $BLK

Key Points

• Community Bank & Trust Waco Texas invested approximately $2.08 million in BlackRock by purchasing 2,194 shares during the first quarter.
• BlackRock's shares have seen recent upgrades, with JPMorgan Chase raising their price target from $1,018 to $1,093 and Barclays raising it from $990 to $1,220.
• The company reported strong earnings with an EPS of $12.05, exceeding the consensus estimate of $10.41, and a 12.9% increase in revenue compared to the same quarter last year.

Community Bank & Trust Waco Texas acquired a new stake in BlackRock (NYSE:BLK - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 2,194 shares of the asset manager's stock, valued at approximately $2,077,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in BlackRock by 2.9% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 13,764,072 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $13,027,419,000 after acquiring an additional 387,466 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in BlackRock by 104,598.9% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 3,500,083 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $3,312,759,000 after acquiring an additional 3,496,740 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its position in BlackRock by 18.6% during the fourth quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 2,100,163 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $2,152,907,000 after acquiring an additional 329,244 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp grew its position in BlackRock by 20.6% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,591,716 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $1,631,684,000 after acquiring an additional 272,176 shares during the period. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its position in BlackRock by 32.8% during the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 1,131,919 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $1,071,339,000 after acquiring an additional 279,336 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.69% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Fabrizio Freda sold 4,434 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,122.81, for a total value of $4,978,539.54. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 3,506 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,936,571.86. This represents a 55.84% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Rachel Lord sold 18,036 shares of the 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 value of $20,301,321.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 19,205 shares of the company's stock, valued at $21,617,148. This trade represents a 48.43% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 66,494 shares of company stock valued at $74,694,573. 1.98% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued 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 BlackRock to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, May 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on BlackRock from $1,018.00 to $1,093.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 16th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective 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. Finally, Barclays boosted their price objective on BlackRock from $990.00 to $1,220.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $1,151.21.

BlackRock Stock Performance

BLK stock traded up $23.1220 on Friday, reaching $1,147.8720. The company's stock had a trading volume of 430,517 shares, compared to its average volume of 756,543. BlackRock has a 52 week low of $773.74 and a 52 week high of $1,171.89. The company has a market capitalization of $177.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 1.42. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $1,082.48 and a two-hundred day moving average of $991.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a current ratio of 4.04 and a quick 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 analysts' consensus estimates of $10.41 by $1.64. BlackRock had a return on equity of 15.53% and a net margin of 29.68%.The business had revenue of $5.42 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.40 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $10.36 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 12.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts predict that BlackRock will post 47.41 EPS for the current fiscal year.

BlackRock Announces Dividend

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

BlackRock Company 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.