Synovus Financial Corp Reduces Holdings in BlackRock $BLK

Key Points

• Synovus Financial Corp reduced its stake in BlackRock by 3.8%, now owning 5,582 shares valued at approximately $5.28 million.
• BlackRock recently announced a quarterly dividend of $5.21, with an annualized yield of 1.8%, and a payout ratio of 50.39%.
• Despite recent insider selling, BlackRock's stock saw a 2.1% increase, with analysts giving it a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy."

Synovus Financial Corp trimmed its position in shares of BlackRock (NYSE:BLK - Free Report) by 3.8% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 5,582 shares of the asset manager's stock after selling 223 shares during the quarter. Synovus Financial Corp's holdings in BlackRock were worth $5,284,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of BLK. Detalus Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of BlackRock by 2.8% during the first quarter. Detalus Advisors LLC now owns 409 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $387,000 after purchasing an additional 11 shares during the period. Blue Bell Private Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake 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 valued at $62,000 after purchasing an additional 11 shares during the period. Rothschild Investment LLC boosted its stake in shares of BlackRock by 2.1% during the first quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC now owns 579 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $548,000 after purchasing an additional 12 shares during the period. Financial Management Professionals Inc. boosted its stake in shares of BlackRock by 3.0% during the first quarter. Financial Management Professionals Inc. now owns 451 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $427,000 after purchasing an additional 13 shares during the period. Finally, Crumly & Associates Inc. boosted its stake in shares of BlackRock by 1.5% during the first quarter. Crumly & Associates Inc. now owns 864 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $818,000 after purchasing an additional 13 shares during the period. 80.69% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other BlackRock news, Director Fabrizio Freda sold 4,434 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,122.81, for a total value of $4,978,539.54. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 3,506 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,936,571.86. The trade was a 55.84% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director J. Richard Kushel sold 17,142 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the director owned 61,369 shares of the company's stock, valued at $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. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 66,494 shares of company stock valued at $74,694,573. Company insiders own 1.98% of the company's stock.

BlackRock Stock Up 2.1%

NYSE:BLK opened at $1,147.8720 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $177.75 billion, a PE ratio of 27.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.20 and a beta of 1.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a current ratio of 4.04 and a quick ratio of 4.04. The company has a 50-day moving average of $1,086.01 and a 200 day moving average of $992.51. BlackRock has a 1-year low of $773.74 and a 1-year high of $1,171.89.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK - Get Free Report) last announced its 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 business had revenue of $5.42 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.40 billion. BlackRock had a net margin of 29.68% and a return on equity of 15.53%. The firm's revenue was up 12.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $10.36 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts anticipate that BlackRock will post 47.41 EPS for the current fiscal year.

BlackRock Announces Dividend

The company 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. 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 payout ratio is currently 50.39%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on BLK shares. Bank of America boosted their target price 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. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of BlackRock in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on shares of BlackRock from $1,180.00 to $1,170.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 16th. Zacks Research lowered shares of BlackRock from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 14th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of BlackRock from $1,018.00 to $1,093.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 16th. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $1,151.21.

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.

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