J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG Acquires 612 Shares of BlackRock $BLK

Key Points

• J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG increased its stake in BlackRock by 2.1%, owning a total of 29,968 shares valued at approximately $31.4 million after acquiring an additional 612 shares in the second quarter.
• BlackRock's recent quarterly earnings reported earnings per share (EPS) of $12.05, exceeding estimates by $1.64, with a revenue increase of 12.9% year-over-year.
• The firm also announced a quarterly dividend of $5.21, representing an annualized dividend yield of 1.8% and a payout ratio of 50.39%.

J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG increased its holdings in BlackRock (NYSE:BLK - Free Report) by 2.1% during the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 29,968 shares of the asset manager's stock after acquiring an additional 612 shares during the period. J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG's holdings in BlackRock were worth $31,444,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. McGuire Investment Group LLC grew its stake in shares of BlackRock by 1.4% in the 2nd quarter. McGuire Investment Group LLC now owns 11,019 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $11,562,000 after acquiring an additional 152 shares in the last quarter. Gold Investment Management Ltd. boosted its holdings in BlackRock by 2.7% during the second quarter. Gold Investment Management Ltd. now owns 2,361 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $2,485,000 after purchasing an additional 63 shares during the last quarter. Naples Global Advisors LLC increased its stake in BlackRock by 2.8% in the 2nd quarter. Naples Global Advisors LLC now owns 8,184 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $8,587,000 after buying an additional 222 shares during the last quarter. Pure Financial Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of BlackRock during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $384,000. Finally, Clarity Financial LLC purchased a new position in shares of BlackRock in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $8,382,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.69% of the company's stock.

BlackRock Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE BLK opened at $1,142.33 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $176.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.62, a P/E/G ratio of 2.23 and a beta of 1.45. The stock's 50-day moving average is $1,128.09 and its 200 day moving average is $1,024.88. 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 has a 1-year low of $773.74 and a 1-year high of $1,183.50.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly 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. 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 last year, the firm posted $10.36 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 12.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that BlackRock will post 47.41 EPS for the current fiscal year.

BlackRock Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 23rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 5th were given a $5.21 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 5th. This represents a $20.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.8%. BlackRock's payout ratio is presently 50.39%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other BlackRock news, 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 value of $19,207,611.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 61,369 shares in the company, valued at approximately $68,763,964.50. The trade was a 21.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Fabrizio Freda sold 4,434 shares of the 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 transaction, the director owned 3,506 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,936,571.86. The trade was a 55.84% decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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. 1.98% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. 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 research note on Wednesday, July 16th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on BlackRock from $1,180.00 to $1,170.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 16th. Citigroup lifted their price objective on BlackRock from $1,200.00 to $1,350.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of BlackRock in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Finally, UBS Group reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and issued a $980.00 price objective 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $1,171.93.

About BlackRock

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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