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. acquired a new position in shares of BlackRock (NYSE:BLK - Free Report) in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 777 shares of the asset manager's stock, valued at approximately $846,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of BLK. McLean Asset Management Corp raised its holdings in shares of BlackRock by 3.9% in the 2nd quarter. McLean Asset Management Corp now owns 266 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $285,000 after purchasing an additional 10 shares in the last quarter. Trust Co. of Oklahoma raised its stake in BlackRock by 0.5% during the 2nd quarter. Trust Co. of Oklahoma now owns 2,023 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $2,123,000 after purchasing an additional 10 shares during the last quarter. Detalus Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of BlackRock by 2.8% in the 1st quarter. Detalus Advisors LLC now owns 409 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $387,000 after buying an additional 11 shares in the last quarter. Blue Bell Private Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of BlackRock by 20.4% during the first quarter. Blue Bell Private Wealth Management LLC now owns 65 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $62,000 after buying an additional 11 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Focus Financial Network Inc. grew its holdings in BlackRock by 1.8% during the 2nd quarter. Focus Financial Network Inc. now owns 619 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $650,000 after acquiring an additional 11 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.69% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently weighed in on BLK shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price objective on shares of BlackRock from $1,247.00 to $1,224.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 16th. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of BlackRock in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. UBS Group reiterated a "neutral" rating and issued a $980.00 target price on shares of BlackRock in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on BlackRock from $1,247.00 to $1,224.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 16th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group restated a "buy" rating and issued a $1,115.00 target price on shares of BlackRock in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, BlackRock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $1,154.07.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director J. Richard Kushel sold 17,142 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,120.50, for a total transaction of $19,207,611.00. Following the sale, the director owned 61,369 shares in the company, valued at $68,763,964.50. This represents a 21.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Laurence Fink sold 12,054 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,125.43, for a total transaction of $13,565,933.22. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 251,697 shares of the company's stock, valued at $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 worth $74,694,573 in the last three months. 1.98% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

BlackRock Price Performance

BlackRock stock traded up $5.63 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $1,142.76. 1,504,904 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 445,605. The stock has a market cap of $176.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.63, a PEG ratio of 2.18 and a beta of 1.45. BlackRock has a 12 month low of $773.74 and a 12 month high of $1,171.89. The stock's fifty day moving average is $1,119.82 and its 200-day moving average is $1,012.87. 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 quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 15th. The asset manager reported $12.05 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates 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 analyst estimates of $5.40 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $10.36 EPS. BlackRock's quarterly revenue was up 12.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that BlackRock will post 47.41 EPS for the current year.

BlackRock Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 23rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 5th will be paid a $5.21 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 5th. This represents a $20.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.8%. BlackRock's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 50.39%.

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.