PGIM Custom Harvest LLC Buys Shares of 400 BlackRock $BLK

Key Points

• PGIM Custom Harvest LLC has acquired a new stake in BlackRock, purchasing 400 shares valued at approximately $379,000 in the first quarter of the year.
• Institutional investors hold a significant portion of BlackRock's stock, owning 80.69% of the company, with notable increases in holdings from firms like GAMMA Investing LLC and Vanguard Group.
• BlackRock reported impressive quarterly earnings of $12.05 EPS, surpassing estimates and showing a 12.9% year-over-year revenue increase to $5.42 billion.

PGIM Custom Harvest LLC bought a new stake in shares of BlackRock (NYSE:BLK - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm bought 400 shares of the asset manager's stock, valued at approximately $379,000.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in shares of BlackRock by 104,598.9% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 3,500,083 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $3,312,759,000 after purchasing an additional 3,496,740 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its holdings in shares of BlackRock by 401.5% during the 4th quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 1,095,241 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $1,122,743,000 after purchasing an additional 876,836 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of BlackRock by 2.9% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 13,764,072 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $13,027,419,000 after purchasing an additional 387,466 shares in the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its holdings in shares of BlackRock by 18.6% during the 4th quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 2,100,163 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $2,152,907,000 after purchasing an additional 329,244 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of BlackRock by 32.8% during 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 purchasing an additional 279,336 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.69% of the company's stock.

BlackRock Stock Performance

Shares of BLK opened at $1,129.0310 on Thursday. The company's fifty day moving average price is $1,079.75 and its 200 day moving average price is $991.10. BlackRock has a one year low of $773.74 and a one year high of $1,171.89. 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 company has a market capitalization of $174.83 billion, a PE ratio of 27.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 1.42.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 company had revenue of $5.42 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.40 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $10.36 EPS. The business's revenue was up 12.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts expect that BlackRock will post 47.41 earnings per share for the current 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 issued a dividend of $5.21 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 5th. This represents a $20.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.8%. BlackRock's payout ratio is presently 50.39%.

Insider Activity at BlackRock

In other news, Director Fabrizio Freda sold 4,434 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,122.81, for a total transaction of $4,978,539.54. Following the transaction, the director owned 3,506 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,936,571.86. The trade was a 55.84% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Laurence Fink sold 14,828 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated 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 owned 263,751 shares in the company, valued at approximately $296,002,472.28. The trade was a 5.32% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 66,494 shares of company stock worth $74,694,573. 1.98% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on BLK shares. 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. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on shares of BlackRock from $1,180.00 to $1,170.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 16th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of BlackRock to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, May 24th. Zacks Research downgraded shares of BlackRock from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, August 14th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $1,115.00 target price on shares of BlackRock in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, BlackRock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $1,151.21.

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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