Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. Has $15.55 Million Holdings in BlackRock $BLK

Key Points

• Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. increased its stake in BlackRock by 14.3% in the second quarter, now holding shares worth approximately $15.55 million.
• BlackRock reported a 12.9% year-over-year revenue growth of $5.42 billion in its latest quarterly earnings, exceeding analyst expectations.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $5.21 per share, with an expected yield of 1.8% and a payout ratio of 50.39%.

Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. grew its stake in BlackRock (NYSE:BLK - Free Report) by 14.3% in the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 14,817 shares of the asset manager's stock after buying an additional 1,850 shares during the period. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc.'s holdings in BlackRock were worth $15,547,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Lewis Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of BlackRock during the 2nd quarter worth about $286,000. Toth Financial Advisory Corp lifted its position in shares of BlackRock by 7.5% during the 2nd quarter. Toth Financial Advisory Corp now owns 11,028 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $11,571,000 after purchasing an additional 769 shares during the last quarter. Edge Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of BlackRock by 6.2% during the 2nd quarter. Edge Wealth Management LLC now owns 15,953 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $16,744,000 after purchasing an additional 927 shares during the last quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC acquired a new position in shares of BlackRock during the 2nd quarter worth about $12,349,000. Finally, Avanza Fonder AB lifted its position in shares of BlackRock by 0.7% during the 2nd quarter. Avanza Fonder AB now owns 9,447 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $9,912,000 after purchasing an additional 63 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.69% of the company's stock.

BlackRock Stock Up 0.5%

NYSE:BLK opened at $1,142.76 on Monday. BlackRock has a 12-month low of $773.74 and a 12-month high of $1,171.89. The company has a quick ratio of 4.04, a current ratio of 4.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39. The firm has a market capitalization of $176.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.63, a P/E/G ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 1.45. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $1,119.82 and its 200-day simple moving average is $1,013.56.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 15th. The asset manager reported $12.05 earnings per share (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 business had revenue of $5.42 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.40 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $10.36 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 12.9% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that BlackRock will post 47.41 earnings per share for the current year.

BlackRock Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 23rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 5th will be issued a dividend of $5.21 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 5th. This represents a $20.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.8%. BlackRock's payout ratio is currently 50.39%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on BLK shares. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on BlackRock from $1,180.00 to $1,170.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 16th. Bank of America upped their price target on BlackRock from $1,214.00 to $1,224.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 16th. Barclays upped their price target on BlackRock from $990.00 to $1,220.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, July 10th. Argus reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of BlackRock in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of BlackRock in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, BlackRock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $1,154.07.

Insider Transactions at BlackRock

In other BlackRock news, Director Rachel Lord sold 18,036 shares of BlackRock stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the director owned 19,205 shares of the company's stock, valued at $21,617,148. This trade represents a 48.43% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director J. Richard Kushel sold 17,142 shares of BlackRock stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,120.50, for a total value of $19,207,611.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 61,369 shares in the company, valued at $68,763,964.50. This represents a 21.83% 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. Company insiders own 1.98% of the company's stock.

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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