GKV Capital Management Co. Inc. Sells 1,467 Shares of BlackRock (NYSE:BLK)

Key Points

• GKV Capital Management Co. Inc. significantly reduced its holdings in BlackRock by 92% in the 1st quarter, now owning only 128 shares worth $121,000.
• BlackRock's stock recently saw a 2.9% increase, with strong quarterly earnings reporting an EPS of $12.05, surpassing analysts' expectations.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $5.21, contributing to an annualized yield of 1.8%, with a payout ratio of 50.39%.

GKV Capital Management Co. Inc. reduced its holdings in shares of BlackRock (NYSE:BLK - Free Report) by 92.0% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 128 shares of the asset manager's stock after selling 1,467 shares during the quarter. GKV Capital Management Co. Inc.'s holdings in BlackRock were worth $121,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Russell Investments Group Ltd. grew its stake in shares of BlackRock by 11.5% in the first quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 84,149 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $79,649,000 after buying an additional 8,670 shares in the last quarter. Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its stake in shares of BlackRock by 7.3% in the first quarter. Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 47,629 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $45,082,000 after buying an additional 3,249 shares in the last quarter. Rathbones Group PLC grew its stake in shares of BlackRock by 9.5% in the first quarter. Rathbones Group PLC now owns 54,172 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $51,273,000 after buying an additional 4,717 shares in the last quarter. Stone House Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of BlackRock in the first quarter valued at $54,000. Finally, Gouws Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of BlackRock in the first quarter valued at $406,000. 80.69% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other BlackRock news, Director Fabrizio Freda sold 4,434 shares of BlackRock stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,122.81, for a total value of $4,978,539.54. Following the transaction, the director owned 3,506 shares in the company, valued at $3,936,571.86. The trade was a 55.84% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Rachel Lord sold 18,036 shares of BlackRock stock in a transaction dated 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 approximately $21,617,148. This represents a 48.43% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 66,494 shares of company stock worth $74,694,573. Insiders own 1.98% of the company's stock.

BlackRock Stock Up 2.9%

BLK stock opened at $1,160.49 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $179.79 billion, a PE ratio of 28.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.27 and a beta of 1.42. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $1,061.50 and a 200 day simple moving average of $987.09. BlackRock has a 52 week low of $773.74 and a 52 week high of $1,161.50. The company has a quick ratio of 4.04, a current ratio of 4.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 15th. The asset manager reported $12.05 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $10.41 by $1.64. The business had revenue of $5.42 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.40 billion. BlackRock had a return on equity of 15.53% and a net margin of 29.68%. BlackRock's revenue for the quarter was up 12.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $10.36 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that BlackRock will post 47.41 EPS for the current fiscal year.

BlackRock Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 23rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 5th will be given a $5.21 dividend. 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 payout ratio is currently 50.39%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on BLK shares. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on shares of 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. Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on shares of BlackRock from $959.00 to $1,210.00 in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $1,115.00 price target on shares of BlackRock in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. Barclays raised their price target on BlackRock from $990.00 to $1,220.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, July 10th. Finally, Bank of America raised their price target on BlackRock from $1,214.00 to $1,224.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 16th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, BlackRock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $1,151.21.

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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