Intech Investment Management LLC Acquires 634 Shares of BlackRock $BLK

Key Points

• Intech Investment Management LLC increased its stake in BlackRock by 11.7%, holding 6,034 shares valued at approximately $5.71 million as of the latest SEC filing.
• Insider transactions revealed significant sales, with Director Rachel Lord selling 18,036 shares for over $20 million, and CEO Laurence Fink selling 14,828 shares worth nearly $16.6 million, indicating a decrease in their ownership of the company.
• Research analysts have a positive outlook on BlackRock, with 12 analysts rating it as "Buy" and a recent average target price of $1,154.07.

Intech Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in BlackRock (NYSE:BLK - Free Report) by 11.7% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 6,034 shares of the asset manager's stock after acquiring an additional 634 shares during the period. Intech Investment Management LLC's holdings in BlackRock were worth $5,711,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in BLK. Focus Partners Wealth lifted its position in BlackRock by 21.7% in the 1st quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 139,904 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $132,417,000 after acquiring an additional 24,962 shares in the last quarter. Flaharty Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of BlackRock during the first quarter worth about $45,000. Integrity Alliance LLC. grew its holdings in shares of BlackRock by 676.1% during the first quarter. Integrity Alliance LLC. now owns 3,477 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $3,290,000 after buying an additional 3,029 shares in the last quarter. Ransom Advisory Ltd acquired a new stake in BlackRock in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $2,374,000. Finally, Glenview Trust co bought a new stake in BlackRock in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $13,095,000. 80.69% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

BLK has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. UBS Group reiterated a "neutral" rating and issued a $980.00 price objective on shares of BlackRock in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. Bank of America lifted their price target on shares of BlackRock from $1,214.00 to $1,224.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 16th. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of BlackRock from $990.00 to $1,220.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, July 10th. Zacks Research downgraded shares of BlackRock from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, August 14th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group restated an "outperform" rating on shares of BlackRock in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $1,154.07.

Insider Buying and Selling at BlackRock

In other news, Director Rachel Lord sold 18,036 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,125.60, for a total value of $20,301,321.60. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 19,205 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $21,617,148. The trade was a 48.43% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director J. Richard Kushel sold 17,142 shares of the business's 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 completion of the sale, the director directly owned 61,369 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $68,763,964.50. The trade was a 21.83% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 66,494 shares of company stock worth $74,694,573. Insiders own 1.98% of the company's stock.

BlackRock Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:BLK traded up $3.79 on Tuesday, hitting $1,118.90. The company had a trading volume of 285,791 shares, compared to its average volume of 728,437. BlackRock has a 1-year low of $773.74 and a 1-year high of $1,171.89. The stock has a market cap of $173.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.05, a P/E/G ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 1.45. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $1,116.63 and a 200 day moving average price of $1,008.76. The company has a current ratio of 4.04, a quick ratio of 4.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39.

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

BlackRock Dividend Announcement

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

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.