SG Americas Securities LLC Buys 1,785 Shares of BlackRock $BLK

Key Points

• SG Americas Securities LLC increased its BlackRock stake by 3.0% in the first quarter, buying 1,785 additional shares and bringing its total holding to 60,911 shares valued at about $58.6 million.
• BlackRock insiders have recently sold stock, with President Robert Kapito and CEO Laurence Fink both trimming their holdings in late April through transactions totaling more than $44 million.
• The company reported better-than-expected quarterly results, posting EPS of $12.53 on revenue of $6.70 billion, and it also announced a quarterly dividend of $5.73 per share payable on June 23.

SG Americas Securities LLC grew its stake in shares of BlackRock (NYSE:BLK - Free Report) by 3.0% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 60,911 shares of the asset manager's stock after buying an additional 1,785 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC's holdings in BlackRock were worth $58,579,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of BLK. Legal & General Group Plc increased its holdings in shares of BlackRock by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 920,578 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $985,331,000 after buying an additional 7,457 shares during the last quarter. Sarasin & Partners LLP grew its position in BlackRock by 10.6% in the fourth quarter. Sarasin & Partners LLP now owns 251,856 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $269,572,000 after acquiring an additional 24,196 shares in the last quarter. Sienna Gestion grew its position in BlackRock by 51.5% in the third quarter. Sienna Gestion now owns 22,859 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $24,299,000 after acquiring an additional 7,773 shares in the last quarter. Hudson Bay Capital Management LP bought a new position in BlackRock in the third quarter valued at $3,791,000. Finally, TCV Trust & Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new stake in BlackRock during the fourth quarter valued at about $20,279,000. 80.69% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at BlackRock

In related news, President Robert Kapito sold 8,739 shares of BlackRock stock in a transaction on Monday, April 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,056.60, for a total value of $9,233,627.40. Following the transaction, the president directly owned 210,186 shares of the company's stock, valued at $222,082,527.60. The trade was a 3.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Laurence Fink sold 33,900 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,050.55, for a total transaction of $35,613,645.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 230,516 shares of the company's stock, valued at $242,168,583.80. This represents a 12.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 1.92% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

BLK has been the subject of several research analyst reports. TD Cowen dropped their price target on BlackRock from $1,238.00 to $1,105.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 9th. Weiss Ratings raised BlackRock from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 13th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on BlackRock from $1,181.00 to $1,313.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 15th. Barclays increased their price target on shares of BlackRock from $1,290.00 to $1,310.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 15th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price objective on shares of BlackRock from $1,351.00 to $1,199.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have given a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $1,264.61.

BlackRock Trading Down 0.0%

NYSE BLK opened at $1,049.74 on Tuesday. BlackRock has a 1-year low of $917.39 and a 1-year high of $1,219.94. The company has a current ratio of 4.09, a quick ratio of 4.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $1,048.86 and a 200-day moving average of $1,052.07. The firm has a market cap of $162.95 billion, a PE ratio of 26.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 1.42.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 14th. The asset manager reported $12.53 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $12.40 by $0.13. The business had revenue of $6.70 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.56 billion. BlackRock had a return on equity of 14.74% and a net margin of 24.40%.BlackRock's revenue for the quarter was up 27.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $9.64 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that BlackRock will post 52.8 EPS for the current year.

BlackRock Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 23rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 5th will be issued a $5.73 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 5th. This represents a $22.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.2%. BlackRock's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 57.53%.

About BlackRock

BlackRock, Inc is a global investment management firm that provides a broad range of products and services to institutional, intermediary and individual investors. Its core activities include portfolio management across active and index strategies, exchange-traded funds (ETFs) under the iShares brand, fixed income, equity and multi-asset solutions, as well as alternatives such as private equity, real estate and infrastructure. The firm also offers cash management and liquidity solutions and retirement-focused products designed for defined contribution and defined benefit investors.

In addition to traditional investment management, BlackRock is known for its technology and risk management capabilities, most prominently its Aladdin platform, which combines portfolio management, trading and risk analytics and is used both internally and licensed to external clients.

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