Sandler Capital Management Takes $1.46 Million Position in BlackRock $BLK

Key Points

• Sandler Capital Management has acquired a new stake in BlackRock worth approximately $1.46 million, purchasing 1,547 shares during the first quarter.
• BlackRock reported $12.05 earnings per share for the last quarter, exceeding analyst expectations of $10.41, with a revenue of $5.42 billion.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $5.21 per share, reflecting an annualized yield of 1.9%, with a payout ratio at 50.39%.

Sandler Capital Management purchased a new stake in shares of BlackRock (NYSE:BLK - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 1,547 shares of the asset manager's stock, valued at approximately $1,464,000.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in BlackRock by 2.9% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 13,764,072 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $13,027,419,000 after acquiring an additional 387,466 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in shares of BlackRock by 104,598.9% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 3,500,083 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $3,312,759,000 after buying an additional 3,496,740 shares in the last quarter. Royal Bank of Canada raised its stake in shares of BlackRock by 73.2% during the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 1,313,350 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $1,243,059,000 after buying an additional 555,098 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its position 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 buying an additional 279,336 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its stake in BlackRock by 401.5% in 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 acquiring an additional 876,836 shares during the period. 80.69% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

BlackRock Price Performance

Shares of BLK traded up $1.70 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $1,106.62. 334,172 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 454,491. 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 has a 12-month low of $773.74 and a 12-month high of $1,171.89. The company has a market cap of $171.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 1.45. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $1,113.10 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $1,003.92.

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 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 firm had revenue of $5.42 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $5.40 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $10.36 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 12.9% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that BlackRock will post 47.41 earnings per share for the current year.

BlackRock Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on BLK shares. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $1,115.00 price target on shares of BlackRock in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Zacks Research cut shares of BlackRock from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of BlackRock from $1,018.00 to $1,093.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 16th. Bank of America lifted their price target on shares of BlackRock from $1,214.00 to $1,224.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 16th. Finally, Barclays lifted their price target on shares of BlackRock from $990.00 to $1,220.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $1,154.07.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other BlackRock news, Director Rachel Lord sold 18,036 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, July 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,125.60, for a total value of $20,301,321.60. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 19,205 shares in the company, valued at $21,617,148. This represents a 48.43% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Laurence Fink sold 12,054 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 251,697 shares of the company's stock, 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. Insiders have sold 66,494 shares of company stock valued at $74,694,573 in the last quarter. Corporate 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.