eCIO Inc. Makes New Investment in BlackRock $BLK

Key Points

• eCIO Inc. has made a new investment in BlackRock, purchasing 247 shares valued at approximately $234,000 during the first quarter.
• BlackRock recently reported earnings per share (EPS) of $12.05 for the last quarter, exceeding analysts' expectations of $10.41, with revenue rising 12.9% year-over-year.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $5.21, resulting in an annualized yield of 1.8%, with a payout ratio of 50.39%.

eCIO Inc. acquired a new position in BlackRock (NYSE:BLK - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 247 shares of the asset manager's stock, valued at approximately $234,000.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in BLK. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of 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 last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in shares of BlackRock by 104,598.9% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 3,500,083 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $3,312,759,000 after purchasing an additional 3,496,740 shares during the last quarter. Royal Bank of Canada increased its position in shares of BlackRock by 73.2% during the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 1,313,350 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $1,243,059,000 after purchasing an additional 555,098 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC increased its position in shares of BlackRock by 10.2% during the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 1,206,935 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $1,142,340,000 after purchasing an additional 111,694 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its position in shares of BlackRock by 32.8% during the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 1,131,919 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $1,071,339,000 after purchasing an additional 279,336 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.69% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at BlackRock

In other news, CEO Laurence Fink sold 14,828 shares of the company'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 sale, the chief executive officer owned 263,751 shares in the company, valued at $296,002,472.28. This represents a 5.32% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Fabrizio Freda sold 4,434 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 24th. The stock was 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 owned 3,506 shares in the company, valued at $3,936,571.86. The trade was a 55.84% decrease in their position. 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 three months. Company insiders own 1.98% of the company's stock.

BlackRock Stock Up 0.3%

Shares of BLK traded up $2.90 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $1,118.01. The company had a trading volume of 541,949 shares, compared to its average volume of 728,959. The company has a market capitalization of $173.12 billion, a PE ratio of 27.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 1.45. The company has a current ratio of 4.04, a quick ratio of 4.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39. BlackRock has a one year low of $773.74 and a one year high of $1,171.89. The company's fifty day moving average price is $1,116.63 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $1,008.76.

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, topping the consensus estimate 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 analyst estimates of $5.40 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $10.36 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 12.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts forecast that BlackRock will post 47.41 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

BlackRock Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 23rd. Investors 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 yield of 1.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 5th. BlackRock's dividend payout ratio is currently 50.39%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Telsey Advisory Group restated an "outperform" rating on shares of BlackRock in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on BlackRock from $959.00 to $1,210.00 in a report on Thursday, July 10th. Barclays boosted their price objective on BlackRock from $990.00 to $1,220.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, July 10th. Argus restated a "buy" rating on shares of BlackRock in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their target price on BlackRock from $1,247.00 to $1,224.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 16th. Twelve equities research 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 has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $1,154.07.

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.