Investment Counsel Co. of Nevada Purchases New Holdings in BlackRock (NYSE:BLK)

Key Points

• Investment Counsel Co. of Nevada has acquired a new position in BlackRock, purchasing 434 shares valued at approximately $411,000, making it the company's 22nd largest holding.
• Multiple institutional investors have increased their stakes in BlackRock recently, with Fairway Wealth LLC boosting its position by 76.5% in Q1.
• BlackRock reported $12.05 EPS for the quarter, beating analyst expectations, and announced a dividend of $5.21 per share, with a yield of 1.9%.

Investment Counsel Co. of Nevada acquired a new position in BlackRock (NYSE:BLK - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 434 shares of the asset manager's stock, valued at approximately $411,000. BlackRock comprises approximately 0.9% of Investment Counsel Co. of Nevada's portfolio, making the stock its 22nd biggest holding.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Investment Management Corp VA ADV purchased a new stake in BlackRock during the 4th quarter valued at $30,000. Fairway Wealth LLC lifted its holdings in shares of BlackRock by 76.5% in the 1st quarter. Fairway Wealth LLC now owns 30 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 13 shares during the last quarter. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of BlackRock during the 1st quarter worth about $31,000. Cheviot Value Management LLC purchased a new stake in BlackRock in the 1st quarter worth about $30,000. Finally, CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC bought a new stake in BlackRock in the first quarter worth about $34,000. 80.69% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other BlackRock news, Director Rachel Lord sold 18,036 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the director owned 19,205 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $21,617,148. This trade represents a 48.43% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director J. Richard Kushel sold 17,142 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,120.50, for a total value of $19,207,611.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 61,369 shares of the company's stock, valued at $68,763,964.50. This trade represents a 21.83% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 66,494 shares of company stock worth $74,694,573. 1.98% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

BlackRock Stock Up 1.0%

BLK stock traded up $10.83 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $1,120.47. 404,897 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 675,821. The company has a market capitalization of $173.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.23 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 business has a 50 day simple moving average of $1,046.27 and a 200 day simple moving average of $983.01. BlackRock has a 12 month low of $773.74 and a 12 month high of $1,130.66.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly 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. The business had revenue of $5.42 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $5.40 billion. BlackRock had a net margin of 29.68% and a return on equity of 15.83%. The company's revenue was up 12.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $10.36 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that BlackRock will post 47.41 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

BlackRock Dividend Announcement

The firm 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 is Friday, September 5th. BlackRock's dividend payout ratio is currently 50.39%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on BLK shares. UBS Group reissued a "neutral" rating and set a $980.00 price target on shares of BlackRock in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on shares of BlackRock from $1,180.00 to $1,170.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 16th. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $1,115.00 price target on shares of BlackRock in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Telsey Advisory Group reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of BlackRock in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Finally, Barclays upped their target price on shares of BlackRock from $990.00 to $1,220.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price 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.