Plato Investment Management Ltd Has $3.31 Million Stock Holdings in BlackRock $BLK

Key Points

• Plato Investment Management Ltd has reduced its stake in BlackRock by 45.7%, now holding $3.31 million worth of 3,464 shares.
• BlackRock reported an EPS of $12.05 for the last quarter, exceeding expectations, with revenue growing 12.9% year-over-year.
• The company is set to distribute a quarterly dividend of $5.21, representing an annualized yield of 1.9%, payable to shareholders of record on September 5th.

Plato Investment Management Ltd lowered its stake in BlackRock (NYSE:BLK - Free Report) by 45.7% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 3,464 shares of the asset manager's stock after selling 2,912 shares during the period. Plato Investment Management Ltd's holdings in BlackRock were worth $3,314,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Fairway Wealth LLC grew its position in shares of BlackRock by 76.5% in the first 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 last quarter. Game Plan Financial Advisors LLC grew its holdings in BlackRock by 100.0% in the 1st quarter. Game Plan Financial Advisors LLC now owns 30 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 15 shares in the last quarter. Investment Management Corp VA ADV bought a new position in BlackRock during the 4th quarter worth $30,000. Cheviot Value Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of BlackRock during the first quarter worth $30,000. Finally, MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of BlackRock in the first quarter valued at about $31,000. 80.69% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

BlackRock Stock Up 0.2%

NYSE BLK opened at $1,106.62 on Wednesday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $1,113.10 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $1,003.92. The stock has a market capitalization of $171.36 billion, a PE ratio of 26.76, a PEG ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 1.45. BlackRock has a fifty-two week low of $773.74 and a fifty-two week 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.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 15th. The asset manager reported $12.05 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $10.41 by $1.64. BlackRock had a return on equity of 15.53% and a net margin of 29.68%.The company had revenue of $5.42 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.40 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $10.36 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 12.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts expect that BlackRock will post 47.41 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

BlackRock Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 23rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 5th will be issued a $5.21 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 5th. This represents a $20.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.9%. BlackRock's dividend payout ratio is 50.39%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently commented on BLK. Morgan Stanley lowered 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 research report on Wednesday, July 16th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price 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. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on BlackRock from $959.00 to $1,210.00 in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on BlackRock from $1,018.00 to $1,093.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 16th. Finally, Zacks Research downgraded BlackRock from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 14th. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, BlackRock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $1,154.07.

Insider Activity at BlackRock

In other BlackRock 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 sale, 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Rachel Lord sold 18,036 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, July 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,125.60, for a total value of $20,301,321.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 19,205 shares of the company's stock, valued at $21,617,148. The trade was a 48.43% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 66,494 shares of company stock valued at $74,694,573. 1.98% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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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