Peoples Financial Services CORP. Trims Stake in BlackRock $BLK

Key Points

• Peoples Financial Services CORP. reduced its stake in BlackRock by 19.7% in Q2, owning 1,222 shares worth approximately $1.28 million after selling 300 shares.
• BlackRock reported $12.05 earnings per share for Q2, exceeding estimates, with a revenue of $5.42 billion which was also above projections.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $5.21 per share on September 23rd, yielding 1.8% annually, with a payout ratio of 50.39%.

Peoples Financial Services CORP. decreased its position in shares of BlackRock (NYSE:BLK - Free Report) by 19.7% during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 1,222 shares of the asset manager's stock after selling 300 shares during the period. Peoples Financial Services CORP.'s holdings in BlackRock were worth $1,282,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Fairway Wealth LLC grew its holdings in shares of BlackRock by 76.5% during the 1st quarter. Fairway Wealth LLC now owns 30 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 13 shares during the period. Game Plan Financial Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of BlackRock by 100.0% in the 1st quarter. Game Plan Financial Advisors LLC now owns 30 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 15 shares in the last quarter. Garde Capital Inc. boosted its position in shares of BlackRock by 200.0% in the 2nd quarter. Garde Capital Inc. now owns 27 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 18 shares in the last quarter. Cheviot Value Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of BlackRock in the 1st quarter worth approximately $30,000. Finally, MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of BlackRock in the 1st quarter worth approximately $31,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.69% of the company's stock.

BlackRock Price Performance

NYSE BLK opened at $1,157.69 on Monday. The business's fifty day moving average price is $1,124.77 and its 200-day moving average price is $1,021.36. The stock has a market capitalization of $179.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.99, a PEG ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 1.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a current ratio of 4.04 and a quick ratio of 4.04. BlackRock has a 1-year low of $773.74 and a 1-year high of $1,171.89.

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 analysts predict that BlackRock will post 47.41 earnings per share for the current year.

BlackRock Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 23rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 5th were issued a dividend of $5.21 per share. This represents a $20.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, September 5th. BlackRock's dividend payout ratio is presently 50.39%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently commented on the company. Barclays boosted their price target on BlackRock from $990.00 to $1,220.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. UBS Group reissued a "neutral" rating and issued a $980.00 price target on shares of BlackRock in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Evercore ISI boosted their price target on BlackRock from $1,170.00 to $1,200.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, September 5th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on BlackRock from $1,180.00 to $1,170.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 16th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of BlackRock in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $1,154.07.

Insider Transactions at BlackRock

In other news, CEO Laurence Fink sold 14,828 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,122.28, for a total transaction of $16,641,167.84. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 263,751 shares of the company's stock, valued at $296,002,472.28. This represents a 5.32% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Fabrizio Freda sold 4,434 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,122.81, for a total value of $4,978,539.54. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 3,506 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,936,571.86. This trade represents a 55.84% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 66,494 shares of company stock valued at $74,694,573 over the last 90 days. 1.98% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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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