Hoxton Planning & Management LLC Takes Position in BlackRock (NYSE:BLK)

Key Points

• Hoxton Planning & Management LLC acquired 877 shares of BlackRock, valued at approximately $830,000, as part of its new position in the asset management firm.
• Several large investors made significant changes to their BlackRock positions, including GAMMA Investing LLC, which increased its stake by over 104,000% in the first quarter.
• BlackRock recently announced a quarterly dividend of $5.21 per share, representing an annualized yield of 1.87%, with a payout ratio of 50.39%.

Hoxton Planning & Management LLC acquired a new stake in BlackRock (NYSE:BLK - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 877 shares of the asset manager's stock, valued at approximately $830,000.

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Securian Asset Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of BlackRock during the first quarter worth $7,331,000. Prudent Man Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of BlackRock during the first quarter worth $2,018,000. Arizona State Retirement System acquired a new stake in shares of BlackRock during the first quarter worth $40,868,000. Polar Capital Holdings Plc acquired a new stake in shares of BlackRock during the fourth quarter worth $15,307,000. Finally, Community Financial Services Group LLC grew its position in BlackRock by 17.2% in the first quarter. Community Financial Services Group LLC now owns 5,702 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $5,397,000 after purchasing an additional 836 shares in the last quarter. 80.69% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at BlackRock

In related news, CEO Laurence Fink sold 12,054 shares of BlackRock stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,125.43, for a total transaction of $13,565,933.22. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 251,697 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $283,267,354.71. The trade was a 4.57% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, 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 transaction of $4,978,539.54. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 3,506 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,936,571.86. This trade represents a 55.84% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 66,494 shares of company stock worth $74,694,573. 1.98% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

BlackRock Stock Performance

Shares of BLK stock traded down $14.72 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $1,091.29. 672,794 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 646,030. The firm has a market capitalization of $169.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.39, a PEG ratio of 2.24 and a beta of 1.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38, a quick ratio of 4.34 and a current ratio of 4.34. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $1,040.67 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $981.66. BlackRock has a 52 week low of $773.74 and a 52 week high of $1,130.66.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK - Get Free Report) last announced 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 business had revenue of $5.42 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.40 billion. BlackRock had a net margin of 29.68% and a return on equity of 15.83%. BlackRock's revenue was up 12.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $10.36 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that BlackRock will post 47.41 earnings per share for the current year.

BlackRock Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 23rd. Investors of record on Friday, September 5th will be issued a dividend of $5.21 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 5th. This represents a $20.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.9%. BlackRock's payout ratio is presently 50.39%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

BLK has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of BlackRock in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Barclays raised their target price 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. TD Cowen decreased their target price on shares of BlackRock from $1,251.00 to $1,032.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on shares of BlackRock from $1,247.00 to $1,224.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 16th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of BlackRock from $1,018.00 to $1,093.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 16th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, BlackRock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $1,151.21.

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.