QRG Capital Management Inc. Acquires 4,313 Shares of BlackRock $BLK

Key Points

• QRG Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in BlackRock by 35.8%, acquiring an additional 4,313 shares for a total holding of 16,346 shares valued at approximately $17.15 million.
• Insider sales were reported with Director J. Richard Kushel selling 17,142 shares and CEO Laurence Fink selling 12,054 shares, marking significant reductions in their ownership stakes.
• Analysts have recently upgraded their price targets for BlackRock, with Citigroup raising its target from $1,200 to $1,350, reflecting positive market sentiment towards the asset manager's performance.

QRG Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings in BlackRock (NYSE:BLK - Free Report) by 35.8% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 16,346 shares of the asset manager's stock after purchasing an additional 4,313 shares during the quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc.'s holdings in BlackRock were worth $17,151,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in BLK. Garde Capital Inc. grew its stake in shares of BlackRock by 200.0% in the second quarter. Garde Capital Inc. now owns 27 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 18 shares during the last quarter. Fairway Wealth LLC grew its position 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 last quarter. Game Plan Financial Advisors LLC raised its holdings in BlackRock by 100.0% in the first quarter. Game Plan Financial Advisors LLC now owns 30 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 15 shares during the last quarter. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of BlackRock in the first quarter worth approximately $31,000. Finally, Cheviot Value Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of BlackRock during the first quarter valued at approximately $30,000. 80.69% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director J. Richard Kushel sold 17,142 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the director owned 61,369 shares of the company's stock, valued at $68,763,964.50. This trade represents a 21.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Laurence Fink sold 12,054 shares of BlackRock stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,125.43, for a total value of $13,565,933.22. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 251,697 shares in the company, valued at approximately $283,267,354.71. The trade was a 4.57% decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on BLK. Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of BlackRock from $1,200.00 to $1,350.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, September 29th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on BlackRock from $1,180.00 to $1,170.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 16th. Barclays increased their price objective on BlackRock from $990.00 to $1,220.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. BMO Capital Markets started coverage on BlackRock in a research report on Friday. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $1,280.00 target price for the company. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "buy (b-)" rating on shares of BlackRock in a report on Saturday, September 27th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have given a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $1,213.67.

BlackRock Trading Up 0.0%

Shares of NYSE:BLK opened at $1,160.75 on Friday. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $1,129.67 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $1,028.18. The stock has a market capitalization of $179.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.06, a PEG ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 1.45. BlackRock has a 52-week low of $773.74 and a 52-week high of $1,183.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a quick ratio of 4.04 and a current ratio of 4.04.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 15th. The asset manager reported $12.05 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 net margin of 29.68% and a return on equity of 15.53%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 12.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $10.36 EPS. Analysts expect that BlackRock will post 47.41 EPS for the current year.

BlackRock Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 23rd. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 1.8%. BlackRock's payout ratio is presently 50.39%.

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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