Park Avenue Securities LLC Purchases New Position in BlackRock $BLK

Key Points

• Park Avenue Securities LLC acquired 11,769 shares of BlackRock, valued at approximately $12.35 million, marking a significant investment during the second quarter.
• BlackRock's recent earnings exceeded analysts’ expectations, reporting $12.05 earnings per share compared to a consensus of $10.41, with quarterly revenue reaching $5.42 billion.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $5.21 per share, reflecting an annualized dividend yield of 1.8%, scheduled for payment on September 23rd.

Park Avenue Securities LLC purchased a new position in shares of BlackRock (NYSE:BLK - Free Report) in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 11,769 shares of the asset manager's stock, valued at approximately $12,349,000.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in BLK. Garde Capital Inc. lifted its stake in shares of BlackRock by 200.0% in the 2nd 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 last quarter. Fairway Wealth LLC increased its holdings in BlackRock by 76.5% during the 1st quarter. Fairway Wealth LLC now owns 30 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 13 shares during the period. Game Plan Financial Advisors LLC increased its holdings in BlackRock by 100.0% during the 1st quarter. Game Plan Financial Advisors LLC now owns 30 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 15 shares during the period. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in BlackRock during the 1st quarter valued at about $31,000. Finally, Cheviot Value Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of BlackRock during the 1st quarter worth approximately $30,000. Institutional investors own 80.69% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

BLK has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Barclays upped their target price on BlackRock from $990.00 to $1,220.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, July 10th. Argus reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of BlackRock in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on BlackRock from $1,180.00 to $1,170.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 16th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their target price on BlackRock from $1,247.00 to $1,224.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 16th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of BlackRock in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $1,154.07.

BlackRock Stock Down 0.6%

BLK stock traded down $6.98 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $1,135.87. The company's stock had a trading volume of 366,005 shares, compared to its average volume of 729,940. The company has a market cap of $175.89 billion, a PE ratio of 27.46, a P/E/G ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 1.45. 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 $1,119.82 and its 200-day moving average is $1,013.56.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly 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. The firm had revenue of $5.42 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $5.40 billion. BlackRock had a return on equity of 15.53% and a net margin of 29.68%.The company's revenue was up 12.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $10.36 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that BlackRock will post 47.41 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

BlackRock Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 23rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 5th will be paid a $5.21 dividend. This represents a $20.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 5th. BlackRock's dividend payout ratio is 50.39%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other BlackRock news, Director J. Richard Kushel sold 17,142 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,120.50, for a total value of $19,207,611.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 61,369 shares in the company, valued at approximately $68,763,964.50. This represents a 21.83% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Laurence Fink sold 12,054 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, July 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,125.43, for a total value of $13,565,933.22. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 251,697 shares of the company's stock, valued at $283,267,354.71. The trade was a 4.57% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 66,494 shares of company stock valued at $74,694,573. Company insiders own 1.98% of the company's stock.

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.