Fifth Third Bancorp Reduces Holdings in BlackRock $BLK

Key Points

• Fifth Third Bancorp reduced its holdings in BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) by 1.7% in the second quarter, owning 70,261 shares worth approximately $73.7 million after selling 1,227 shares.
• BlackRock reported an EPS of $12.05 for the last quarter, surpassing expectations, with total revenue rising 12.9% year-over-year.
• The company recently declared a quarterly dividend of $5.21, reflecting a 1.8% yield and a current dividend payout ratio of 50.39%.

Fifth Third Bancorp decreased its holdings in shares of BlackRock (NYSE:BLK - Free Report) by 1.7% during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 70,261 shares of the asset manager's stock after selling 1,227 shares during the period. Fifth Third Bancorp's holdings in BlackRock were worth $73,721,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of BLK. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its position in BlackRock by 23.1% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 1,575 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $1,615,000 after buying an additional 296 shares during the last quarter. Bison Wealth LLC boosted its position in BlackRock by 1.6% in the fourth quarter. Bison Wealth LLC now owns 1,052 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $1,078,000 after buying an additional 17 shares during the last quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank boosted its position in BlackRock by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 51,192 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $52,475,000 after buying an additional 577 shares during the last quarter. Ameriflex Group Inc. purchased a new stake in BlackRock in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $97,000. Finally, Armis Advisers LLC purchased a new stake in BlackRock in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $248,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.69% of the company's stock.

BlackRock Stock Down 0.4%

NYSE BLK opened at $1,131.86 on Wednesday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $1,121.97 and a 200 day moving average price of $1,015.69. 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 quick ratio of 4.04 and a current ratio of 4.04. The company has a market cap of $175.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.37, a P/E/G ratio of 2.17 and a beta of 1.45.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 15th. The asset manager reported $12.05 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 firm had revenue of $5.42 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.40 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $10.36 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 12.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate that BlackRock will post 47.41 EPS for the current fiscal year.

BlackRock Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed 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 is currently 50.39%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

BLK has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on BlackRock from $1,018.00 to $1,093.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 16th. Argus restated a "buy" rating on shares of BlackRock in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. UBS Group restated a "neutral" rating and issued a $980.00 price objective on shares of BlackRock in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Barclays upped their price objective on BlackRock from $990.00 to $1,220.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on BlackRock from $959.00 to $1,210.00 in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. Twelve research 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, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $1,154.07.

Insider Transactions at BlackRock

In related news, CEO Laurence Fink sold 14,828 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 263,751 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $296,002,472.28. This represents a 5.32% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Rachel Lord sold 18,036 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, July 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,125.60, for a total value of $20,301,321.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 19,205 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $21,617,148. This represents a 48.43% decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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 in the last 90 days. 1.98% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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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