Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. Sells 3,484 Shares of BlackRock (NYSE:BLK)

Key Points

• Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. reduced its stake in BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) by 9.6%, selling 3,484 shares and now holding 32,984 shares worth approximately $31.2 million.
• BlackRock's CEO Laurence Fink sold 14,828 shares for over $16.6 million, representing a 5.32% decrease in his ownership.
• The company recently declared a quarterly dividend of $5.21 per share, with a yield of 1.9% and a payout ratio of 50.39%.

Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. lowered its position in BlackRock (NYSE:BLK - Free Report) by 9.6% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 32,984 shares of the asset manager's stock after selling 3,484 shares during the period. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd.'s holdings in BlackRock were worth $31,219,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of BLK. Fairway Wealth LLC boosted its holdings in BlackRock by 76.5% in the 1st quarter. Fairway Wealth LLC now owns 30 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 13 shares during the period. Investment Management Corp VA ADV bought a new position in BlackRock in the 4th quarter worth $30,000. Cheviot Value Management LLC bought a new position in BlackRock in the 1st quarter worth $30,000. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in BlackRock in the 1st quarter worth $31,000. Finally, CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC purchased a new stake in BlackRock in the 1st quarter worth $34,000. Institutional investors own 80.69% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at BlackRock

In other news, CEO Laurence Fink sold 14,828 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,122.28, for a total transaction of $16,641,167.84. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 263,751 shares in the company, valued at approximately $296,002,472.28. This trade represents a 5.32% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director J. Richard Kushel sold 17,142 shares of the 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 directly owned 61,369 shares of the company's stock, valued at $68,763,964.50. The trade was a 21.83% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 66,494 shares of company stock valued at $74,694,573 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 1.98% of the company's stock.

BlackRock Price Performance

Shares of BLK stock opened at $1,124.20 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a current ratio of 4.04 and a quick ratio of 4.34. The company has a market capitalization of $174.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.18, a P/E/G ratio of 2.26 and a beta of 1.42. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $1,054.94 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $985.34. BlackRock has a one year low of $773.74 and a one year high of $1,131.93.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 15th. The asset manager reported $12.05 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $10.41 by $1.64. BlackRock had a net margin of 29.68% and a return on equity of 15.53%. The firm had revenue of $5.42 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.40 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $10.36 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 12.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities 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 will be paid on Tuesday, September 23rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 5th will be paid a dividend of $5.21 per share. 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 (DPR) is currently 50.39%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have commented on BLK shares. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of BlackRock from $1,180.00 to $1,170.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 16th. Bank of America boosted their price target on shares of BlackRock from $1,214.00 to $1,224.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of BlackRock from $1,018.00 to $1,093.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 16th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on shares of BlackRock from $959.00 to $1,210.00 in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on shares of 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. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, BlackRock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $1,151.21.

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.

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