MBB Public Markets I LLC Invests $313,000 in BlackRock $BLK

Key Points

• MBB Public Markets I LLC recently invested approximately $313,000 in BlackRock by acquiring 331 shares of the company's stock during the first quarter.
• Several institutional investors have significantly increased their stakes in BlackRock, with GAMMA Investing LLC raising its position by 104,598.9% in the last quarter.
• BlackRock's stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" from analysts, with an average price target of $1,154.07, reflecting positive sentiment in the market.

MBB Public Markets I LLC bought a new position in BlackRock (NYSE:BLK - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 331 shares of the asset manager's stock, valued at approximately $313,000.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in BLK. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in shares of BlackRock by 104,598.9% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 3,500,083 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $3,312,759,000 after acquiring an additional 3,496,740 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its stake in shares of BlackRock by 401.5% during the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 1,095,241 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $1,122,743,000 after purchasing an additional 876,836 shares in the last quarter. Royal Bank of Canada increased its stake in shares of BlackRock by 73.2% during the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 1,313,350 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $1,243,059,000 after purchasing an additional 555,098 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of BlackRock by 2.9% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 13,764,072 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $13,027,419,000 after purchasing an additional 387,466 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of BlackRock by 32.8% during the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 1,131,919 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $1,071,339,000 after purchasing an additional 279,336 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.69% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on BlackRock from $1,180.00 to $1,170.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 16th. UBS Group reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and issued a $980.00 price target on shares of BlackRock in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Zacks Research lowered BlackRock from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 14th. Bank of America raised 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 report on Wednesday, July 16th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of BlackRock from $1,018.00 to $1,093.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 16th. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, BlackRock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $1,154.07.

Insider Transactions at BlackRock

In related news, Director J. Richard Kushel sold 17,142 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 in the company, valued at approximately $68,763,964.50. The trade was a 21.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Rachel Lord sold 18,036 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,125.60, for a total transaction of $20,301,321.60. Following the sale, the director directly owned 19,205 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $21,617,148. This represents a 48.43% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 66,494 shares of company stock valued at $74,694,573. 1.98% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

BlackRock Trading Up 0.2%

Shares of BLK stock opened at $1,106.62 on Wednesday. BlackRock has a 12-month low of $773.74 and a 12-month high of $1,171.89. The company has a current ratio of 4.04, a quick ratio of 4.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39. The firm's 50 day moving average is $1,113.10 and its 200 day moving average is $1,003.92. The stock has a market capitalization of $171.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.76, a P/E/G ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 1.45.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results 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 net margin of 29.68% and a return on equity of 15.53%. The company had revenue of $5.42 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $5.40 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $10.36 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 12.9% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that BlackRock will post 47.41 earnings per share for the current year.

BlackRock Dividend Announcement

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

BlackRock 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.

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