777 Shares in BlackRock $BLK Purchased by Strathmore Capital Advisors Inc.

Key Points

• Strathmore Capital Advisors Inc. has acquired a new stake in BlackRock, purchasing 777 shares valued at approximately $846,000 during the 2nd quarter.
• Analysts have raised their price targets for BlackRock, with Barclays increasing it from $990 to $1,220 and Jefferies raising theirs from $959 to $1,210, reflecting strong positive sentiment in the market.
• BlackRock reported $12.05 EPS for the last quarter, exceeding expectations, and has announced a quarterly dividend of $5.21 per share, indicating a dividend yield of 1.8%.

Strathmore Capital Advisors Inc. bought a new position in BlackRock (NYSE:BLK - Free Report) during the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm bought 777 shares of the asset manager's stock, valued at approximately $846,000.

Other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Fairway Wealth LLC raised its position in shares of 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 buying an additional 13 shares during the period. Game Plan Financial Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of BlackRock by 100.0% during 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 during the period. Garde Capital Inc. raised its position in BlackRock by 200.0% in the second quarter. Garde Capital Inc. now owns 27 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 18 shares during the period. Investment Management Corp VA ADV purchased a new position in shares of BlackRock during the fourth quarter worth $30,000. Finally, Cheviot Value Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of BlackRock during the first quarter worth $30,000. 80.69% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

BLK has been the subject of several research reports. Argus restated a "buy" rating on shares of BlackRock in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Telsey Advisory Group restated an "outperform" rating on shares of BlackRock in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Zacks Research downgraded shares of BlackRock from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 14th. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a "buy" rating and issued a $1,115.00 price target on shares of BlackRock in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Finally, Barclays boosted their price target on shares of BlackRock from $990.00 to $1,220.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $1,154.07.

BlackRock Price Performance

Shares of BLK traded down $6.98 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $1,135.87. 366,005 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 499,193. BlackRock has a 52-week low of $773.74 and a 52-week high of $1,171.89. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $1,120.31 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $1,014.87. The company has a market cap of $175.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.46, a PEG ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 1.45. The company has a quick ratio of 4.04, a current ratio of 4.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39.

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

BlackRock Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 23rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 5th will be issued a dividend of $5.21 per share. The ex-dividend date is 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 currently 50.39%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Rachel Lord sold 18,036 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, July 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,125.60, for a total transaction of $20,301,321.60. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 19,205 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $21,617,148. This represents a 48.43% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director J. Richard Kushel sold 17,142 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,120.50, for a total transaction of $19,207,611.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 61,369 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $68,763,964.50. This represents a 21.83% 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 worth $74,694,573 over the last three months. 1.98% of the stock is owned by 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.