Meiji Yasuda Life Insurance Co Lowers Stock Holdings in BlackRock $BLK

Key Points

• Meiji Yasuda Life Insurance Co reduced its holdings in BlackRock by 7.2% in the first quarter, now owning 3,037 shares worth approximately $2.87 million after selling 235 shares.
• Several other institutional investors have increased their stakes in BlackRock, with Brighton Jones LLC leading with a 23.1% increase in the fourth quarter.
• Analysts are adjusting ratings and target prices for BlackRock, with Morgan Stanley and Keefe, Bruyette & Woods both lowering their target price to $1,224, while JPMorgan Chase raised theirs to $1,093.

Meiji Yasuda Life Insurance Co trimmed its position in BlackRock (NYSE:BLK - Free Report) by 7.2% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,037 shares of the asset manager's stock after selling 235 shares during the quarter. Meiji Yasuda Life Insurance Co's holdings in BlackRock were worth $2,874,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of BLK. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its holdings in shares of BlackRock by 23.1% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 1,575 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $1,615,000 after buying an additional 296 shares in the last quarter. Bison Wealth LLC lifted its holdings in shares of BlackRock by 1.6% in the fourth quarter. Bison Wealth LLC now owns 1,052 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $1,078,000 after buying an additional 17 shares in the last quarter. CoreCap Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of BlackRock by 8.1% in the fourth quarter. CoreCap Advisors LLC now owns 226 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $232,000 after purchasing an additional 17 shares during the last quarter. First Manhattan CO. LLC. raised its stake in BlackRock by 4.7% in the fourth quarter. First Manhattan CO. LLC. now owns 1,490 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $1,527,000 after purchasing an additional 67 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Guardian Wealth Advisors LLC NC raised its stake in BlackRock by 4.0% in the fourth quarter. Guardian Wealth Advisors LLC NC now owns 892 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $914,000 after purchasing an additional 34 shares in the last quarter. 80.69% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on BLK. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on shares of 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. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their target price on shares of BlackRock from $1,247.00 to $1,224.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 16th. Zacks Research downgraded shares of BlackRock from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of BlackRock from $1,018.00 to $1,093.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 16th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of BlackRock in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, BlackRock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $1,154.07.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director J. Richard Kushel sold 17,142 shares of the firm'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 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. This trade represents a 21.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Fabrizio Freda sold 4,434 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 in the company, valued at $3,936,571.86. This represents a 55.84% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 66,494 shares of company stock worth $74,694,573 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 1.98% of the company's stock.

BlackRock Stock Down 0.9%

Shares of BlackRock stock opened at $1,099.21 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a quick ratio of 4.04 and a current ratio of 4.04. BlackRock has a 52-week low of $773.74 and a 52-week high of $1,171.89. The stock has a market capitalization of $170.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.58, a P/E/G ratio of 2.10 and a beta of 1.45. The company's 50 day moving average price is $1,110.95 and its 200-day moving average price is $1,002.29.

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 firm had revenue of $5.42 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $5.40 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $10.36 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 12.9% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that BlackRock will post 47.41 EPS for the current year.

BlackRock Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 23rd. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 1.9%. BlackRock's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 50.39%.

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.

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