S Bank Fund Management Ltd Takes $493,000 Position in BlackRock (NYSE:BLK)

Key Points

• S Bank Fund Management Ltd has invested approximately $493,000 in BlackRock by purchasing 521 shares in the first quarter of the year.
• Despite recent sales of shares by insiders, with one director selling over $19 million in stock, institutional investors still own around 80.69% of BlackRock's shares.
• BlackRock announced a quarterly dividend of $5.21 per share, representing an annualized yield of 1.8%, with a payout ratio of 50.39%.

S Bank Fund Management Ltd acquired a new position in BlackRock (NYSE:BLK - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund acquired 521 shares of the asset manager's stock, valued at approximately $493,000.

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Fairway Wealth LLC boosted its stake 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 buying an additional 13 shares during the last quarter. Investment Management Corp VA ADV acquired a new position in shares of BlackRock during the 4th quarter worth about $30,000. Cheviot Value Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of BlackRock during the 1st quarter worth about $30,000. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of BlackRock during the 1st quarter worth about $31,000. Finally, CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC acquired a new position in shares of BlackRock during the 1st quarter worth about $34,000. Institutional investors own 80.69% of the company's stock.

BlackRock Price Performance

BlackRock stock traded down $24.28 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $1,135.88. The company had a trading volume of 580,186 shares, compared to its average volume of 520,802. BlackRock has a fifty-two week low of $773.74 and a fifty-two week high of $1,171.89. The company has a current ratio of 4.04, a quick ratio of 4.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39. The company has a market cap of $175.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.46, a P/E/G ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 1.42. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $1,071.38 and a 200 day simple moving average of $989.33.

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

BlackRock Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 23rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 5th will be given a dividend of $5.21 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend 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%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on BLK shares. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on shares of BlackRock from $1,247.00 to $1,224.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 16th. UBS Group reissued a "neutral" rating and issued a $980.00 price target on shares of BlackRock in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. Argus reissued a "buy" rating on shares of BlackRock in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. Telsey Advisory Group reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of BlackRock in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. Finally, Bank of America increased their price target on shares of BlackRock from $1,214.00 to $1,224.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 16th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, BlackRock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $1,151.21.

Insider Buying and Selling at BlackRock

In other news, Director Rachel Lord sold 18,036 shares of the business'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 value of $20,301,321.60. Following the sale, 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Laurence Fink sold 12,054 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,125.43, for a total transaction of $13,565,933.22. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 251,697 shares in the company, valued at approximately $283,267,354.71. This trade represents a 4.57% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 66,494 shares of company stock valued at $74,694,573. Insiders own 1.98% of the company's stock.

About BlackRock

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.