Ieq Capital LLC Raises Holdings in BlackRock $BLK

Key Points

• Ieq Capital LLC increased its stake in BlackRock by 6.3% during the first quarter, owning a total of 11,541 shares valued at approximately $10.92 million.
• Several large investors, including Securian Asset Management and Arizona State Retirement System, have recently made significant purchases in BlackRock, increasing the institutional ownership to 80.69%.
• BlackRock has announced a quarterly dividend of $5.21, with an annual yield of 1.8% and a payout ratio of 50.39%.

Ieq Capital LLC lifted its holdings in shares of BlackRock (NYSE:BLK - Free Report) by 6.3% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 11,541 shares of the asset manager's stock after buying an additional 687 shares during the period. Ieq Capital LLC's holdings in BlackRock were worth $10,923,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Securian Asset Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of BlackRock during the 1st quarter worth approximately $7,331,000. Prudent Man Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of BlackRock during the 1st quarter worth approximately $2,018,000. Arizona State Retirement System purchased a new position in shares of BlackRock during the 1st quarter worth approximately $40,868,000. Allianz SE increased its stake in BlackRock by 2.6% in the 1st quarter. Allianz SE now owns 11,025 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $10,435,000 after purchasing an additional 277 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Polar Capital Holdings Plc purchased a new position in BlackRock in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $15,307,000. 80.69% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on BLK shares. Argus reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of BlackRock in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price objective on BlackRock from $1,247.00 to $1,224.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 16th. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of BlackRock in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on BlackRock from $1,247.00 to $1,224.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 16th. Finally, UBS Group reiterated a "neutral" rating and set a $980.00 target price on shares of BlackRock in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, BlackRock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $1,151.21.

Insider Transactions at BlackRock

In related news, Director Fabrizio Freda sold 4,434 shares of BlackRock stock in a transaction on 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 approximately $3,936,571.86. This trade represents a 55.84% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Rachel Lord sold 18,036 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated 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 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. Insiders have sold a total of 66,494 shares of company stock worth $74,694,573 over the last ninety days. 1.98% of the stock is owned by insiders.

BlackRock Stock Performance

BlackRock stock opened at $1,133.45 on Thursday. BlackRock has a 52 week low of $773.74 and a 52 week high of $1,171.89. The firm has a market capitalization of $175.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.40, a PEG ratio of 2.18 and a beta of 1.42. The company has a current ratio of 4.04, a quick ratio of 4.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $1,095.68 and a 200 day moving average price of $995.51.

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

BlackRock Announces Dividend

The company 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 $5.21 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 5th. This represents a $20.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.8%. BlackRock's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 50.39%.

BlackRock 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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