Federation des caisses Desjardins du Quebec Trims Position in BlackRock $BLK

Key Points

• The Federation des caisses Desjardins du Quebec reduced its stake in BlackRock by 21.2%, selling 6,773 shares and bringing its total holdings to 25,227 shares worth approximately $23.88 million.
• BlackRock reported strong earnings with $12.05 earnings per share for the latest quarter, exceeding analysts' expectations, and achieved a 12.9% year-over-year revenue growth of $5.42 billion.
• Insider activity includes CEO Laurence Fink selling 12,054 shares, resulting in a 4.57% drop in his ownership, while analysts have a Moderate Buy rating on the stock with an average target price of $1,151.21.

Federation des caisses Desjardins du Quebec lessened its stake in shares of BlackRock (NYSE:BLK - Free Report) by 21.2% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 25,227 shares of the asset manager's stock after selling 6,773 shares during the period. Federation des caisses Desjardins du Quebec's holdings in BlackRock were worth $23,877,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its holdings in shares of BlackRock by 23.1% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 1,575 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $1,615,000 after acquiring an additional 296 shares in the last quarter. Bison Wealth LLC lifted its holdings in BlackRock by 1.6% during the 4th quarter. Bison Wealth LLC now owns 1,052 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $1,078,000 after buying an additional 17 shares during the period. Cary Street Partners Financial LLC acquired a new position in BlackRock during the 4th quarter worth about $2,585,000. Captrust Financial Advisors raised its position in shares of BlackRock by 21.0% in the 4th quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 8,037 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $8,239,000 after acquiring an additional 1,397 shares in the last quarter. Finally, BOKF NA raised its position in shares of BlackRock by 2.3% in the 4th quarter. BOKF NA now owns 15,743 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $15,045,000 after acquiring an additional 358 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.69% of the company's stock.

BlackRock Stock Down 0.9%

Shares of NYSE:BLK traded down $9.55 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $1,099.21. The company had a trading volume of 487,573 shares, compared to its average volume of 446,742. The stock has a market capitalization of $170.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.58, a PEG ratio of 2.10 and a beta of 1.45. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $1,110.95 and its 200-day moving average price is $1,002.21. 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 current ratio of 4.04 and a quick ratio of 4.04.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 15th. The asset manager reported $12.05 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.40 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $10.36 earnings per share. 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 fiscal year.

BlackRock Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 23rd. Investors of record on Friday, September 5th will be paid a $5.21 dividend. This represents a $20.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.9%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 5th. BlackRock's payout ratio is currently 50.39%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other BlackRock news, Director Rachel Lord sold 18,036 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the sale, 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director J. Richard Kushel sold 17,142 shares of BlackRock stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 30th. The stock was 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 of the company's stock, valued at $68,763,964.50. The trade was a 21.83% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 66,494 shares of company stock worth $74,694,573. 1.98% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have commented on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a "buy" rating and set a $1,115.00 price objective on shares of BlackRock in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. Argus reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of BlackRock in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. UBS Group reissued a "neutral" rating and set a $980.00 price target on shares of BlackRock in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on shares of BlackRock from $1,180.00 to $1,170.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 16th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of BlackRock in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $1,154.07.

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.