MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB Trims Stake in BlackRock $BLK

Key Points

• MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB reduced its stake in BlackRock by 2.9% during Q2, resulting in holdings of 19,421 shares valued at around $20.4 million.
• BlackRock reported an EPS of $12.05 for the last quarter, exceeding expectations, and announced a quarterly dividend of $5.21 per share.
• Analysts have issued mixed ratings for BlackRock, with a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of approximately $1,154.07.

MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB reduced its holdings in shares of BlackRock (NYSE:BLK - Free Report) by 2.9% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 19,421 shares of the asset manager's stock after selling 583 shares during the period. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB's holdings in BlackRock were worth $20,377,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Garde Capital Inc. increased its holdings 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 buying an additional 18 shares during the last quarter. Investment Management Corp VA ADV bought a new position in shares of BlackRock in the fourth quarter worth approximately $30,000. Fairway Wealth LLC boosted its position in shares of BlackRock by 76.5% in the first quarter. Fairway Wealth LLC now owns 30 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 13 shares during the period. Game Plan Financial Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of BlackRock by 100.0% in the first quarter. Game Plan Financial Advisors LLC now owns 30 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 15 shares during the period. Finally, MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of BlackRock in the first quarter worth approximately $31,000. 80.69% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

BlackRock Trading Down 0.8%

Shares of BLK opened at $1,114.15 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $172.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.94, a P/E/G ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 1.45. BlackRock has a twelve month low of $773.74 and a twelve month high of $1,171.89. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $1,116.63 and its 200-day simple moving average is $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 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. The company had revenue of $5.42 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.40 billion. BlackRock had a net margin of 29.68% and a return on equity of 15.53%. The firm's revenue was up 12.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $10.36 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that BlackRock will post 47.41 EPS for the current year.

BlackRock Announces Dividend

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

Insider Activity at BlackRock

In related news, Director Rachel Lord sold 18,036 shares of the firm'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 transaction, the director owned 19,205 shares of the company's stock, valued at $21,617,148. This trade represents a 48.43% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Laurence Fink sold 14,828 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 263,751 shares in the company, valued at $296,002,472.28. This represents a 5.32% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 66,494 shares of company stock worth $74,694,573. 1.98% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on BLK shares. Bank of America upped their price target on shares of BlackRock from $1,214.00 to $1,224.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 16th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price target on shares of BlackRock from $1,247.00 to $1,224.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 16th. Argus reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of BlackRock in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. UBS Group reiterated a "neutral" rating and issued a $980.00 price target on shares of BlackRock in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of BlackRock in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, BlackRock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $1,154.07.

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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding BLK? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for BlackRock (NYSE:BLK - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.