Fiduciary Alliance LLC Decreases Stake in BlackRock $BLK

Key Points

• Fiduciary Alliance LLC significantly reduced its stake in BlackRock by 80.3%, selling 2,335 shares and now holding only 573 shares valued at $601,000.
• Several institutional investors increased their holdings in BlackRock, with GAMMA Investing LLC raising its stake by 104,598.9%, acquiring over 3.4 million additional shares.
• BlackRock recently announced a quarterly dividend of $5.21 per share, set to be paid on September 23rd, representing an annual yield of 1.8%.

Fiduciary Alliance LLC trimmed its position in shares of BlackRock (NYSE:BLK - Free Report) by 80.3% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 573 shares of the asset manager's stock after selling 2,335 shares during the quarter. Fiduciary Alliance LLC's holdings in BlackRock were worth $601,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of BLK. Fairway Wealth LLC boosted its stake in BlackRock by 76.5% during the first quarter. Fairway Wealth LLC now owns 30 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 13 shares during the period. Game Plan Financial Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of BlackRock by 100.0% during the first quarter. Game Plan Financial Advisors LLC now owns 30 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 15 shares during the last quarter. Garde Capital Inc. lifted its position in shares of BlackRock by 200.0% during the second quarter. Garde Capital Inc. now owns 27 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 18 shares during the last quarter. Investment Management Corp VA ADV bought a new stake in shares of BlackRock during the fourth quarter worth $30,000. Finally, Cheviot Value Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of BlackRock during the first quarter worth $30,000. 80.69% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

BlackRock Stock Performance

NYSE:BLK traded up $5.63 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $1,142.76. The company had a trading volume of 1,504,904 shares, compared to its average volume of 732,033. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a current ratio of 4.04 and a quick ratio of 4.04. The firm has a market cap of $176.96 billion, a PE ratio of 27.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.17 and a beta of 1.45. The business's 50 day moving average price is $1,119.02 and its 200-day moving average price is $1,011.55. BlackRock has a 1-year low of $773.74 and a 1-year high of $1,171.89.

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

BlackRock Dividend Announcement

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently weighed in on BLK. Zacks Research downgraded BlackRock from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 14th. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of BlackRock in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on BlackRock from $1,018.00 to $1,093.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 16th. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a "buy" rating and issued a $1,115.00 price objective on shares of BlackRock in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded BlackRock to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, May 24th. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, BlackRock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $1,154.07.

Insider Transactions at BlackRock

In related news, Director Rachel Lord sold 18,036 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,125.60, for a total transaction of $20,301,321.60. Following the completion of 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 sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, 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 value of $16,641,167.84. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 263,751 shares of the company's stock, valued at $296,002,472.28. This trade represents a 5.32% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 66,494 shares of company stock valued at $74,694,573. Insiders own 1.98% of the company's stock.

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.