Focus Partners Wealth Purchases 24,962 Shares of BlackRock $BLK

Key Points

• Focus Partners Wealth increased its stake in BlackRock by 21.7%, purchasing an additional 24,962 shares during the first quarter, totaling approximately $132.4 million in ownership.
• Insider transactions revealed significant sales, with BlackRock Director Rachel Lord and J. Richard Kushel selling a combined total of 35,178 shares for over $39.5 million, reflecting notable decreases in their positions.
• Analysts remain optimistic about BlackRock, with recent upgrades raising target prices; the consensus rating is a "Moderate Buy" with an average target price of $1,154.07.

Focus Partners Wealth boosted its position in shares of BlackRock (NYSE:BLK - Free Report) by 21.7% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 139,904 shares of the asset manager's stock after purchasing an additional 24,962 shares during the quarter. Focus Partners Wealth owned about 0.09% of BlackRock worth $132,417,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Securian Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of BlackRock during the 1st quarter worth about $7,331,000. Prudent Man Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of BlackRock during the 1st quarter worth about $2,018,000. Allianz SE grew its position in shares of BlackRock by 2.6% during the 1st quarter. Allianz SE now owns 11,025 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $10,435,000 after buying an additional 277 shares during the period. Arizona State Retirement System acquired a new position in shares of BlackRock during the 1st quarter worth about $40,868,000. Finally, Polar Capital Holdings Plc acquired a new position in shares of BlackRock during the 4th quarter worth about $15,307,000. 80.69% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at BlackRock

In other BlackRock news, Director Rachel Lord sold 18,036 shares of the company's 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 transaction of $20,301,321.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 19,205 shares of the company's stock, valued at $21,617,148. This represents a 48.43% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director J. Richard Kushel sold 17,142 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the director directly owned 61,369 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $68,763,964.50. This trade represents a 21.83% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 66,494 shares of company stock worth $74,694,573. Insiders own 1.98% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Bank of America boosted their target price on BlackRock from $1,214.00 to $1,224.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 16th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on BlackRock from $959.00 to $1,210.00 in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on BlackRock from $1,170.00 to $1,200.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, September 5th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price objective on BlackRock from $1,247.00 to $1,224.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 16th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $1,115.00 price objective on shares of BlackRock in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. 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 has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $1,154.07.

BlackRock Trading Up 0.2%

NYSE:BLK opened at $1,106.62 on Wednesday. BlackRock has a twelve month low of $773.74 and a twelve 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 business has a 50 day moving average price of $1,113.10 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $1,003.92. The company has a market cap of $171.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 1.45.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 15th. The asset manager reported $12.05 earnings per share 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.40 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $10.36 EPS. The business's revenue was up 12.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts expect that BlackRock will post 47.41 EPS for the current fiscal year.

BlackRock Dividend Announcement

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

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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