Liberty Capital Management Inc. Purchases 350 Shares of BlackRock $BLK

Key Points

• Liberty Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in BlackRock by 14.8% during the 2nd quarter, now owning 2,722 shares worth approximately $2.85 million.
• BlackRock recently announced a quarterly dividend of $5.21 per share, representing an annualized yield of 1.8%.
• Analysts maintain a Moderate Buy rating for BlackRock, with an average price target of $1,171.93 per share.

Liberty Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of BlackRock (NYSE:BLK - Free Report) by 14.8% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,722 shares of the asset manager's stock after acquiring an additional 350 shares during the period. Liberty Capital Management Inc.'s holdings in BlackRock were worth $2,856,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Garde Capital Inc. increased its stake in BlackRock by 200.0% during the second quarter. Garde Capital Inc. now owns 27 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 18 shares during the period. Fairway Wealth LLC increased its stake in BlackRock by 76.5% during the first quarter. Fairway Wealth LLC now owns 30 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 13 shares during the period. Game Plan Financial Advisors LLC increased its stake in BlackRock by 100.0% during the first quarter. Game Plan Financial Advisors LLC now owns 30 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 15 shares during the period. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of BlackRock in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Finally, Cheviot Value Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of BlackRock in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $30,000. 80.69% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

BlackRock Stock Down 0.8%

Shares of BLK opened at $1,166.35 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $180.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.20, a PEG ratio of 2.25 and a beta of 1.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a current ratio of 4.04 and a quick ratio of 4.04. BlackRock has a one year low of $773.74 and a one year high of $1,183.50. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $1,127.65 and its 200-day simple moving average is $1,024.07.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 15th. The asset manager reported $12.05 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 the consensus estimate of $5.40 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $10.36 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 12.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that BlackRock will post 47.41 EPS for the current fiscal year.

BlackRock Dividend Announcement

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

BLK has been the topic of several analyst reports. UBS Group reiterated a "neutral" rating and issued a $980.00 price objective on shares of BlackRock in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Bank of America upped their price objective on BlackRock from $1,214.00 to $1,224.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 16th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective 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. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective 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. Finally, Barclays upped their price objective on BlackRock from $990.00 to $1,220.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $1,171.93.

Insider Transactions at BlackRock

In other BlackRock news, CEO Laurence Fink sold 14,828 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,122.28, for a total transaction of $16,641,167.84. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 263,751 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $296,002,472.28. This represents a 5.32% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Fabrizio Freda sold 4,434 shares of the company's 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 directly owned 3,506 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,936,571.86. This represents a 55.84% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 66,494 shares of company stock worth $74,694,573 in the last quarter. 1.98% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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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