Groupe la Francaise Has $21.57 Million Position in BlackRock $BLK

Key Points

• Groupe la Francaise significantly reduced its stake in BlackRock by 99.1%, selling 2,493,577 shares and owning only 23,239 shares worth $21,573,000 at the end of the first quarter.
• Several institutional investors, such as Fairway Wealth LLC, have increased their stakes in BlackRock; the overall ownership by hedge funds and institutional investors is 80.69%.
• BlackRock's recent earnings report showed an EPS of $12.05, surpassing analysts' expectations, and the company announced a quarterly dividend of $5.21 per share, reflecting a 1.8% yield.

Groupe la Francaise decreased its holdings in shares of BlackRock (NYSE:BLK - Free Report) by 99.1% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 23,239 shares of the asset manager's stock after selling 2,493,577 shares during the period. Groupe la Francaise's holdings in BlackRock were worth $21,573,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its position in shares of BlackRock by 23.1% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 1,575 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $1,615,000 after purchasing an additional 296 shares in the last quarter. Burling Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of BlackRock in the fourth quarter worth approximately $639,000. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC lifted its position in shares of BlackRock by 159.3% in the fourth quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC now owns 2,238 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $2,294,000 after purchasing an additional 1,375 shares in the last quarter. Topsail Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of BlackRock in the fourth quarter worth approximately $445,000. Finally, Rothschild Capital Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of BlackRock by 29.8% in the fourth quarter. Rothschild Capital Partners LLC now owns 5,259 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $5,391,000 after purchasing an additional 1,207 shares in the last quarter. 80.69% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

BlackRock Stock Performance

Shares of BlackRock stock traded down $2.37 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $1,129.26. The company had a trading volume of 99,819 shares, compared to its average volume of 746,633. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $1,095.68 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $995.51. The stock has a market cap of $174.87 billion, a PE ratio of 27.31, a P/E/G ratio of 2.18 and a beta of 1.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a current ratio of 4.04 and a quick ratio of 4.04. BlackRock has a 1-year low of $773.74 and a 1-year high of $1,171.89.

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

BlackRock Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 23rd. Investors of record on Friday, September 5th will be issued a $5.21 dividend. This represents a $20.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 5th. BlackRock's payout ratio is currently 50.39%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

BLK has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Zacks Research lowered shares of BlackRock from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 14th. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of BlackRock in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of BlackRock from $990.00 to $1,220.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on shares of BlackRock from $1,180.00 to $1,170.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 16th. Finally, Argus reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of BlackRock in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, BlackRock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $1,151.21.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related 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 completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 3,506 shares of the company's stock, 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 filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Laurence Fink sold 14,828 shares of BlackRock stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,122.28, for a total value of $16,641,167.84. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 263,751 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $296,002,472.28. The trade was a 5.32% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 66,494 shares of company stock valued at $74,694,573. 1.98% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.