IFM Investors Pty Ltd Sells 275 Shares of BlackRock $BLK

Key Points

• IFM Investors Pty Ltd reduced its stake in BlackRock by 1.0%, selling 275 shares, and now holds 26,518 shares valued at approximately $25 million.
• Insider transactions revealed significant sales, with Director J. Richard Kushel selling 17,142 shares for over $19 million, indicating a 21.83% decrease in his position.
• BlackRock's latest quarterly earnings showed an EPS of $12.05, surpassing analysts' expectations by $1.64, along with a revenue increase of 12.9% year-over-year.

IFM Investors Pty Ltd lessened its holdings in shares of BlackRock (NYSE:BLK - Free Report) by 1.0% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 26,518 shares of the asset manager's stock after selling 275 shares during the period. IFM Investors Pty Ltd's holdings in BlackRock were worth $25,099,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

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

Insider Transactions at BlackRock

In other news, Director J. Richard Kushel sold 17,142 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,120.50, for a total transaction of $19,207,611.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 61,369 shares of the company's stock, valued at $68,763,964.50. This represents a 21.83% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Fabrizio Freda sold 4,434 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 sale, the director owned 3,506 shares in the company, valued at $3,936,571.86. The trade was a 55.84% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 66,494 shares of company stock valued at $74,694,573 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 1.98% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Argus reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of BlackRock in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Telsey Advisory Group reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of BlackRock in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Bank of America boosted their target price on BlackRock from $1,214.00 to $1,224.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 16th. Zacks Research lowered BlackRock from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 14th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $1,115.00 target price on shares of BlackRock in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $1,154.07.

BlackRock Trading Up 0.2%

BlackRock stock opened at $1,106.62 on Wednesday. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $1,113.10 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $1,003.92. The company has a market cap of $171.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.76, a P/E/G ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 1.45. BlackRock has a 52-week low of $773.74 and a 52-week high of $1,171.89. The company has a quick ratio of 4.04, a current ratio of 4.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 15th. The asset manager reported $12.05 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $10.41 by $1.64. The company had revenue of $5.42 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.40 billion. BlackRock had a return on equity of 15.53% and a net margin of 29.68%.The firm's revenue was up 12.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $10.36 EPS. Analysts predict that BlackRock will post 47.41 EPS for the current year.

BlackRock Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 5th. BlackRock's dividend payout ratio is 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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