Cyrus J. Lawrence LLC Reduces Stock Position in BlackRock $BLK

Key Points

• Cyrus J. Lawrence LLC significantly reduced its position in BlackRock by 92.8%, resulting in ownership of just 617 shares, which now represents 2.2% of its investment portfolio.
• In contrast, several institutions increased their holdings in BlackRock, with GAMMA Investing LLC boosting its stake by an astonishing 104,598.9% during the same period.
• BlackRock announced a quarterly dividend of $5.21 per share, reflecting an annualized yield of 1.8%, with the ex-dividend date set for September 5th.

Cyrus J. Lawrence LLC lowered its position in shares of BlackRock (NYSE:BLK - Free Report) by 92.8% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 617 shares of the asset manager's stock after selling 7,930 shares during the period. BlackRock comprises about 2.2% of Cyrus J. Lawrence LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 20th biggest holding. Cyrus J. Lawrence LLC's holdings in BlackRock were worth $583,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. GAMMA Investing LLC increased 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 worth $3,312,759,000 after acquiring an additional 3,496,740 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its stake in shares of BlackRock by 401.5% in the 4th quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 1,095,241 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $1,122,743,000 after acquiring an additional 876,836 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. increased 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 worth $13,027,419,000 after acquiring an additional 387,466 shares in the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased 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 worth $2,152,907,000 after acquiring an additional 329,244 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased 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 worth $1,071,339,000 after acquiring an additional 279,336 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.69% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at BlackRock

In other news, Director J. Richard Kushel sold 17,142 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Rachel Lord sold 18,036 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,125.60, for a total transaction of $20,301,321.60. Following the transaction, the director owned 19,205 shares in the company, valued at approximately $21,617,148. This trade represents a 48.43% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 66,494 shares of company stock worth $74,694,573. 1.98% of the stock is owned by insiders.

BlackRock Stock Performance

BLK stock opened at $1,128.45 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $174.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.28, a PEG ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 1.42. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $1,101.81 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $997.65. BlackRock has a one year low of $773.74 and a one year 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 released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 15th. The asset manager reported $12.05 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $10.41 by $1.64. The business had revenue of $5.42 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.40 billion. BlackRock had a net margin of 29.68% and a return on equity of 15.53%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 12.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $10.36 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that BlackRock will post 47.41 EPS for the current fiscal year.

BlackRock Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 23rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 5th will be given a dividend of $5.21 per share. 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 is presently 50.39%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have weighed in on BLK. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price objective on shares of BlackRock from $1,247.00 to $1,224.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 16th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of BlackRock to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, May 24th. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $1,115.00 price target on shares of BlackRock in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. 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 cut their price objective on shares of BlackRock from $1,247.00 to $1,224.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 16th. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently 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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