PB Investment Partners L.P. Makes New Investment in BlackRock $BLK

Key Points

• PB Investment Partners L.P. invested approximately $10.87 million in BlackRock by acquiring 10,359 shares, making it the 7th largest position in their portfolio.
• BlackRock's recent quarterly earnings reported an EPS of $11.55, which was below the consensus estimate, despite revenue exceeding expectations at $6.51 billion.
• Insider trading activity includes significant sales by directors, with Rachel Lord selling 18,036 shares and J. Richard Kushel selling 17,142 shares, indicating a decrease in their respective ownership positions.

PB Investment Partners L.P. bought a new position in shares of BlackRock (NYSE:BLK - Free Report) during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 10,359 shares of the asset manager's stock, valued at approximately $10,869,000. BlackRock makes up 7.4% of PB Investment Partners L.P.'s portfolio, making the stock its 7th largest position.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in BlackRock by 2.9% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 13,764,072 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $13,027,419,000 after acquiring an additional 387,466 shares in the last quarter. Royal Bank of Canada boosted its holdings in shares of BlackRock by 73.2% in the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 1,313,350 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $1,243,059,000 after buying an additional 555,098 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC boosted its holdings in shares of BlackRock by 10.2% in the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 1,206,935 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $1,142,340,000 after buying an additional 111,694 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of BlackRock by 32.8% in the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 1,131,919 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $1,071,339,000 after buying an additional 279,336 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of BlackRock by 13.2% in the 1st quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 932,899 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $882,970,000 after buying an additional 108,473 shares in the last quarter. 80.69% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at BlackRock

In other BlackRock news, Director Rachel Lord sold 18,036 shares of the firm'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 completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 19,205 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $21,617,148. This trade represents a 48.43% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director J. Richard Kushel sold 17,142 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,120.50, for a total transaction of $19,207,611.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 61,369 shares of the company's stock, valued at $68,763,964.50. This represents a 21.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 66,494 shares of company stock valued at $74,694,573. 1.98% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

BlackRock Stock Performance

Shares of BlackRock stock opened at $1,201.37 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $186.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.89, a PEG ratio of 2.17 and a beta of 1.45. The company has a quick ratio of 4.04, a current ratio of 4.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $1,138.95 and a 200 day moving average price of $1,039.23. BlackRock has a 52 week low of $773.74 and a 52 week high of $1,219.94.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 14th. The asset manager reported $11.55 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $11.78 by ($0.23). The company had revenue of $6.51 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $6.22 billion. BlackRock had a net margin of 26.64% and a return on equity of 15.36%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 25.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $11.46 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that BlackRock will post 47.41 EPS for the current year.

BlackRock Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 23rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 5th were given a dividend of $5.21 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, September 5th. This represents a $20.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.7%. BlackRock's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 50.39%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on BLK shares. Barclays raised their price target on shares of BlackRock from $1,310.00 to $1,360.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of BlackRock from $1,093.00 to $1,242.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, October 2nd. Argus raised their price target on shares of BlackRock from $1,165.00 to $1,330.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of BlackRock from $1,362.00 to $1,486.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on shares of BlackRock from $1,196.00 to $1,325.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, October 7th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have issued a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, BlackRock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $1,300.81.

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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