BlackRock $BLK Shares Sold by Northern Trust Corp

Key Points

• Northern Trust Corp has reduced its stake in BlackRock by 1.5%, owning approximately 1.01% of the company, worth about $1.48 billion.
• BlackRock announced a quarterly dividend of $5.21 per share, with an annualized yield of 1.8% and a payout ratio of 50.39%.
• Analysts have varying opinions on BlackRock's stock, with targets ranging from $1,093 to $1,247 and a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy."

Northern Trust Corp cut its stake in BlackRock (NYSE:BLK - Free Report) by 1.5% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 1,567,266 shares of the asset manager's stock after selling 24,450 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp owned approximately 1.01% of BlackRock worth $1,483,386,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of BLK. Brighton Jones LLC raised its holdings in BlackRock by 23.1% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 1,575 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $1,615,000 after buying an additional 296 shares during the period. Jump Financial LLC raised its holdings in BlackRock by 1.6% in the fourth quarter. Jump Financial LLC now owns 786 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $806,000 after buying an additional 12 shares during the period. GeoWealth Management LLC purchased a new position in BlackRock in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $883,000. Freedom Investment Management Inc. purchased a new position in BlackRock in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $723,000. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in BlackRock by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 398,790 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $408,809,000 after buying an additional 4,070 shares during the period. 80.69% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at BlackRock

In other news, Director J. Richard Kushel sold 17,142 shares of the business's stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the director owned 61,369 shares of the company's stock, 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 legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Laurence Fink sold 12,054 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, July 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,125.43, for a total transaction of $13,565,933.22. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 251,697 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $283,267,354.71. This trade represents a 4.57% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 66,494 shares of company stock worth $74,694,573 in the last ninety days. 1.98% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently commented on BLK shares. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a "buy" rating and issued a $1,115.00 price target on shares of BlackRock in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on shares of BlackRock from $1,247.00 to $1,224.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 16th. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of BlackRock from $990.00 to $1,220.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on shares of BlackRock from $959.00 to $1,210.00 in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective 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. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $1,151.21.

BlackRock Stock Up 2.1%

Shares of NYSE:BLK traded up $23.1220 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $1,147.8720. The company had a trading volume of 430,517 shares, compared to its average volume of 756,543. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a current ratio of 4.04 and a quick ratio of 4.04. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $1,082.48 and its 200-day moving average price is $991.86. The stock has a market capitalization of $177.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.75, a PEG ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 1.42. BlackRock has a one year low of $773.74 and a one year high of $1,171.89.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, July 15th. The asset manager reported $12.05 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.40 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $10.36 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 12.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts expect that BlackRock will post 47.41 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

BlackRock Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 23rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 5th will be paid a dividend of $5.21 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 5th. This represents a $20.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.8%. BlackRock's payout ratio is presently 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.