Courier Capital LLC Buys New Shares in BlackRock $BLK

Key Points

• Courier Capital LLC acquired a new stake in BlackRock, purchasing 274 shares valued at approximately $287,000 in the second quarter.
• BlackRock reported earnings per share (EPS) of $11.55 for the latest quarter, falling short of analyst estimates, although revenue increased 25.2% year-over-year.
• The company's recent quarterly dividend was $5.21, with a yield of 1.7%, reflecting a payout ratio of 50.39%.

Courier Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of BlackRock (NYSE:BLK - Free Report) in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 274 shares of the asset manager's stock, valued at approximately $287,000.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Welch Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of BlackRock by 1.2% in the second quarter. Welch Group LLC now owns 760 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $797,000 after purchasing an additional 9 shares during the last quarter. McLean Asset Management Corp grew its stake in shares of BlackRock by 3.9% in the second quarter. McLean Asset Management Corp now owns 266 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $285,000 after buying an additional 10 shares in the last quarter. Trust Co. of Oklahoma grew its stake in shares of BlackRock by 0.5% in the second quarter. Trust Co. of Oklahoma now owns 2,023 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $2,123,000 after buying an additional 10 shares in the last quarter. TOWER TRUST & INVESTMENT Co grew its stake in shares of BlackRock by 1.3% in the second quarter. TOWER TRUST & INVESTMENT Co now owns 799 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $838,000 after buying an additional 10 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ashton Thomas Securities LLC grew its stake in shares of BlackRock by 4.7% in the second quarter. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC now owns 223 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $234,000 after buying an additional 10 shares in the last quarter. 80.69% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

BlackRock Trading Up 0.6%

Shares of BlackRock stock opened at $1,201.37 on Thursday. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $1,138.95 and a 200-day moving average of $1,039.23. The stock has a market cap of $186.03 billion, a PE ratio of 30.89, a PEG ratio of 2.17 and a beta of 1.45. BlackRock has a 52-week low of $773.74 and a 52-week high of $1,219.94. 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 announced its earnings results on Tuesday, October 14th. The asset manager reported $11.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $11.78 by ($0.23). The business had revenue of $6.51 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.22 billion. BlackRock had a net margin of 26.64% and a return on equity of 15.36%. The company's revenue was up 25.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $11.46 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that BlackRock will post 47.41 EPS for the current year.

BlackRock Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 23rd. Investors of record on Friday, September 5th were paid a $5.21 dividend. This represents a $20.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, September 5th. BlackRock's payout ratio is 50.39%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have commented on BLK shares. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of BlackRock in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. BNP Paribas Exane lifted their price objective on shares of BlackRock from $1,160.00 to $1,265.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 9th. Bank of America lifted their price objective on shares of BlackRock from $1,394.00 to $1,456.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of BlackRock from $1,310.00 to $1,360.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, BMO Capital Markets started coverage on shares of BlackRock in a research report on Friday, October 3rd. They set an "outperform" rating and a $1,280.00 price objective for the company. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have assigned a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, BlackRock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $1,300.81.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Laurence Fink sold 14,828 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,122.28, for a total value of $16,641,167.84. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 263,751 shares of the company's stock, valued at $296,002,472.28. The trade was 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 available through this link. Also, Director Fabrizio Freda sold 4,434 shares of the firm's 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 in the company, valued at approximately $3,936,571.86. This represents a 55.84% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 66,494 shares of company stock worth $74,694,573 in the last ninety days. 1.98% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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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