Eastern Bank Cuts Stock Holdings in BlackRock $BLK

Key Points

• Eastern Bank has decreased its holdings in BlackRock by 2.0%, selling 990 shares in the second quarter, leaving it with a total of 49,434 shares valued at approximately $51.9 million.
• In its latest earnings report, BlackRock reported an EPS of $12.05 for the last quarter, exceeding analysts' expectations and showing a 12.9% revenue increase year-over-year, totaling $5.42 billion.
• The company recently declared a quarterly dividend of $5.21, translating to an annualized dividend of $20.84 with a yield of 1.8%, reflecting a dividend payout ratio of 50.39%.

Eastern Bank lowered its holdings in shares of BlackRock (NYSE:BLK - Free Report) by 2.0% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 49,434 shares of the asset manager's stock after selling 990 shares during the quarter. Eastern Bank's holdings in BlackRock were worth $51,869,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. McLean Asset Management Corp lifted its position in BlackRock by 3.9% during the second quarter. McLean Asset Management Corp now owns 266 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $285,000 after purchasing an additional 10 shares during the last quarter. Trust Co. of Oklahoma lifted its position in BlackRock by 0.5% during the second quarter. Trust Co. of Oklahoma now owns 2,023 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $2,123,000 after purchasing an additional 10 shares during the last quarter. TOWER TRUST & INVESTMENT Co lifted its position in BlackRock by 1.3% during the second quarter. TOWER TRUST & INVESTMENT Co now owns 799 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $838,000 after purchasing an additional 10 shares during the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC lifted its position in BlackRock by 4.7% during the second quarter. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC now owns 223 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $234,000 after purchasing an additional 10 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ameriflex Group Inc. lifted its position in BlackRock by 8.8% during the second quarter. Ameriflex Group Inc. now owns 123 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $127,000 after purchasing an additional 10 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.69% of the company's stock.

BlackRock Trading Down 3.0%

BLK stock opened at $1,132.12 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $175.31 billion, a PE ratio of 27.37, a P/E/G ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 1.45. BlackRock has a 12 month low of $773.74 and a 12 month high of $1,184.13. The firm's 50-day moving average is $1,134.85 and its 200 day moving average is $1,034.64. 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 posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 15th. The asset manager reported $12.05 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $10.41 by $1.64. The company had revenue of $5.42 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.40 billion. BlackRock had a net margin of 29.68% and a return on equity of 15.53%. The firm's revenue was up 12.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $10.36 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, September 5th. BlackRock's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 50.39%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

BLK has been the subject of several research reports. Zacks Research lowered shares of BlackRock from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 14th. Weiss Ratings restated a "buy (b-)" rating on shares of BlackRock in a report on Wednesday. Argus restated a "buy" rating on shares of BlackRock in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. Barclays raised their target price on shares of BlackRock from $1,210.00 to $1,310.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday. Finally, BMO Capital Markets began coverage on shares of BlackRock in a report on Friday, October 3rd. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $1,280.00 target price for the company. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have assigned a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $1,258.56.

Insider Activity at BlackRock

In other BlackRock news, CEO Laurence Fink sold 14,828 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated 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 owned 263,751 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $296,002,472.28. This trade represents a 5.32% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Rachel Lord sold 18,036 shares of the firm'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 directly owned 19,205 shares in the company, valued at $21,617,148. This trade represents a 48.43% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 66,494 shares of company stock worth $74,694,573. 1.98% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

BlackRock 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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