GAMMA Investing LLC Acquires 664 Shares of BlackRock $BLK

Key Points

• GAMMA Investing LLC has increased its stake in BlackRock by 18.0%, acquiring an additional 664 shares, bringing its total to 4,362 shares valued at approximately $4.58 million.
• BlackRock reported earnings per share of $12.05 for the last quarter, exceeding expectations and marking a 12.9% increase in revenue year-over-year.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $5.21, representing an annualized yield of 1.8%, with a payout ratio of 50.39%.

GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in BlackRock (NYSE:BLK - Free Report) by 18.0% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 4,362 shares of the asset manager's stock after purchasing an additional 664 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC's holdings in BlackRock were worth $4,577,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Fairway Wealth LLC lifted its holdings in shares of BlackRock by 76.5% in the 1st quarter. Fairway Wealth LLC now owns 30 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 13 shares in the last quarter. Game Plan Financial Advisors LLC increased its stake in BlackRock by 100.0% in the 1st 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 period. Garde Capital Inc. boosted 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 valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 18 shares in the last quarter. Cheviot Value Management LLC bought a new stake in BlackRock in the 1st quarter worth about $30,000. Finally, MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in BlackRock in the first quarter valued at about $31,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.69% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently issued reports on BLK. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on BlackRock from $1,180.00 to $1,170.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 16th. Evercore ISI upped their price target on BlackRock from $1,170.00 to $1,200.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, September 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on BlackRock from $1,018.00 to $1,093.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 16th. Argus reissued a "buy" rating on shares of BlackRock in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price objective on BlackRock from $1,247.00 to $1,224.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 16th. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, BlackRock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $1,154.07.

BlackRock Stock Down 0.6%

NYSE:BLK traded down $6.98 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $1,135.87. The company had a trading volume of 366,005 shares, compared to its average volume of 499,193. 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's 50-day simple moving average is $1,120.31 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $1,014.87. BlackRock has a twelve month low of $773.74 and a twelve month high of $1,171.89. The firm has a market cap of $175.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.46, a P/E/G ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 1.45.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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. The firm had revenue of $5.42 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.40 billion. BlackRock had a net margin of 29.68% and a return on equity of 15.53%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 12.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $10.36 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that BlackRock will post 47.41 earnings per share for the current year.

BlackRock Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 23rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 5th will be issued a $5.21 dividend. 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 1.8%. BlackRock's payout ratio is presently 50.39%.

Insider Transactions at BlackRock

In related news, CEO Laurence Fink sold 14,828 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,122.28, for a total transaction of $16,641,167.84. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 263,751 shares in the company, valued at $296,002,472.28. This trade represents a 5.32% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Rachel Lord sold 18,036 shares of BlackRock stock in a transaction that occurred 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 owned 19,205 shares in the company, valued at $21,617,148. This trade 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.

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.