Granite Harbor Advisors Inc. Invests $244,000 in BlackRock $BLK

Key Points

• Granite Harbor Advisors Inc. invested approximately $244,000 to acquire 233 shares in BlackRock during the second quarter.
• Major institutional investors, including Vanguard Group Inc. and Royal Bank of Canada, have recently increased their stakes in BlackRock, indicating strong interest with 80.69% of the stock owned by institutional investors.
• Analysts have a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" for BlackRock, with an average target price of $1,299.29 following recent price adjustments from various brokerages.

Granite Harbor Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in BlackRock (NYSE:BLK - Free Report) in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 233 shares of the asset manager's stock, valued at approximately $244,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of BlackRock by 2.9% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 13,764,072 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $13,027,419,000 after purchasing an additional 387,466 shares during the last quarter. Royal Bank of Canada raised its stake in shares of BlackRock by 73.2% in the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 1,313,350 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $1,243,059,000 after purchasing an additional 555,098 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC raised its stake in shares of BlackRock by 10.2% in the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 1,206,935 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $1,142,340,000 after purchasing an additional 111,694 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its position in shares of BlackRock by 32.8% during the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 1,131,919 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $1,071,339,000 after acquiring an additional 279,336 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. grew its holdings in BlackRock by 13.2% during the first quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 932,899 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $882,970,000 after purchasing an additional 108,473 shares during the period. 80.69% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at BlackRock

In related news, CEO Laurence Fink sold 12,054 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, July 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,125.43, for a total value of $13,565,933.22. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 251,697 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $283,267,354.71. This represents a 4.57% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director J. Richard Kushel sold 17,142 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,120.50, for a total transaction of $19,207,611.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 61,369 shares of the company's stock, valued at $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 ninety days, insiders sold 59,232 shares of company stock worth $67,055,346. Insiders own 1.98% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have weighed in on BLK. BNP Paribas Exane increased their price objective on BlackRock from $1,160.00 to $1,265.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, October 9th. UBS Group reiterated a "hold" rating on shares of BlackRock in a report on Tuesday. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "buy (b-)" rating on shares of BlackRock in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on BlackRock from $1,180.00 to $1,170.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 16th. Finally, Evercore ISI raised their target price on BlackRock from $1,200.00 to $1,230.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 9th. Seventeen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $1,299.29.

BlackRock Stock Performance

Shares of BLK opened at $1,127.42 on Thursday. 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 moving average price is $1,140.24 and its 200-day moving average price is $1,047.41. BlackRock has a 52 week low of $773.74 and a 52 week high of $1,219.94. The stock has a market cap of $174.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.99, a P/E/G ratio of 1.95 and a beta of 1.45.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 14th. The asset manager reported $11.55 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $11.78 by ($0.23). BlackRock had a return on equity of 15.36% and a net margin of 26.64%.The company had revenue of $6.51 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.22 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $11.46 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 25.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that BlackRock will post 47.41 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.

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