BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) Shares Purchased by Goldman Sachs Group Inc.

Key Points

• Goldman Sachs increased its stake in BlackRock by 32.8% during the first quarter, now owning 1,131,919 shares worth approximately $1.07 billion.
• During the last quarter, insiders sold a total of 66,494 shares of BlackRock stock, indicating a significant decrease in their ownership.
• BlackRock recently announced a quarterly dividend of $5.21 per share, with an annualized yield of 1.9%, and has a consensus price target of $1,151.21 from analysts.

Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its holdings in BlackRock (NYSE:BLK - Free Report) by 32.8% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 1,131,919 shares of the asset manager's stock after purchasing an additional 279,336 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. owned about 0.73% of BlackRock worth $1,071,339,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Investment Management Corp VA ADV acquired a new stake in shares of BlackRock during the fourth quarter worth approximately $30,000. Fairway Wealth LLC boosted its stake in BlackRock by 76.5% during the 1st quarter. Fairway Wealth LLC now owns 30 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 13 shares during the last quarter. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in BlackRock during the 1st quarter worth $31,000. Cheviot Value Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of BlackRock in the 1st quarter worth about $30,000. Finally, CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC acquired a new stake in shares of BlackRock in the 1st quarter valued at about $34,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.69% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

BLK has been the topic of several research analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of BlackRock from $1,018.00 to $1,093.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 16th. Argus reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of BlackRock in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price target on BlackRock from $1,247.00 to $1,224.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 16th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on BlackRock from $959.00 to $1,210.00 in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on BlackRock from $1,247.00 to $1,224.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note 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's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, BlackRock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $1,151.21.

BlackRock Stock Performance

NYSE BLK traded up $11.37 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $1,124.20. The company had a trading volume of 427,828 shares, compared to its average volume of 674,734. The company has a quick ratio of 4.34, a current ratio of 4.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39. The firm has a market cap of $174.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.24 and a beta of 1.42. BlackRock has a fifty-two week low of $773.74 and a fifty-two week high of $1,131.93. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $1,052.01 and a 200-day simple moving average of $984.72.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK - Get Free Report) last released 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 business had revenue of $5.42 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $5.40 billion. BlackRock had a net margin of 29.68% and a return on equity of 15.53%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 12.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $10.36 EPS. Equities analysts predict that BlackRock will post 47.41 EPS for the current year.

BlackRock Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 23rd. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 1.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 5th. BlackRock's payout ratio is 50.39%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

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.