Cookson Peirce & Co. Inc. Sells 684 Shares of BlackRock (NYSE:BLK)

Key Points

• Cookson Peirce & Co. Inc. has reduced its stake in BlackRock by 2.2%, selling 684 shares, which now represents roughly 1.4% of their total holdings.
• Several institutional investors, including Vanguard Group and GAMMA Investing LLC, have increased their stakes in BlackRock, indicating strong interest from major funds.
• BlackRock recently reported earnings surpassing analysts' expectations, with a quarterly EPS of $12.05 compared to a consensus of $10.41.

Cookson Peirce & Co. Inc. decreased its holdings in shares of BlackRock (NYSE:BLK - Free Report) by 2.2% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 30,415 shares of the asset manager's stock after selling 684 shares during the quarter. BlackRock comprises approximately 1.4% of Cookson Peirce & Co. Inc.'s holdings, making the stock its 23rd largest position. Cookson Peirce & Co. Inc.'s holdings in BlackRock were worth $28,787,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in BlackRock by 2.9% during 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 period. Capital World Investors boosted its stake in BlackRock by 2.3% during the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 4,097,524 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $4,200,450,000 after purchasing an additional 93,844 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position 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 worth $3,312,759,000 after acquiring an additional 3,496,740 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. lifted its position 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 worth $2,152,907,000 after acquiring an additional 329,244 shares during the period. Finally, Northern Trust Corp lifted its position 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 worth $1,631,684,000 after acquiring an additional 272,176 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 80.69% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

BLK has been the subject of a number of research reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price objective on BlackRock from $1,247.00 to $1,224.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 16th. Argus reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of BlackRock in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Wall Street Zen upgraded BlackRock to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, May 24th. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of BlackRock in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on BlackRock from $959.00 to $1,210.00 in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $1,151.21.

Insider Transactions at BlackRock

In other news, Director Rachel Lord sold 18,036 shares of BlackRock stock in a transaction 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 sale, the director directly owned 19,205 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $21,617,148. This trade represents a 48.43% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Fabrizio Freda sold 4,434 shares of BlackRock stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,122.81, for a total value of $4,978,539.54. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 3,506 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,936,571.86. This trade represents a 55.84% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 66,494 shares of company stock valued at $74,694,573 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 1.98% of the company's stock.

BlackRock Trading Up 0.0%

BLK stock opened at $1,159.78 on Thursday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $1,064.92 and a 200 day moving average price of $988.28. BlackRock has a fifty-two week low of $773.74 and a fifty-two week high of $1,171.89. The stock has a market capitalization of $179.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.04, a P/E/G ratio of 2.33 and a beta of 1.42. 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 released its quarterly earnings results 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. 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 last year, the firm posted $10.36 EPS. The business's revenue was up 12.9% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that BlackRock will post 47.41 EPS for the current fiscal year.

BlackRock Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 23rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 5th will be paid a $5.21 dividend. This represents a $20.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 5th. BlackRock's dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.

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