Truist Financial Corp Boosts Stock Position in BlackRock $BLK

Key Points

• Truist Financial Corp has increased its stake in BlackRock by 1.4%, owning approximately 227,334 shares valued at $238.5 million as of the end of the 2nd quarter.
• Several institutional investors, including Garde Capital Inc and Fairway Wealth LLC, have significantly increased their holdings in BlackRock, indicating strong interest from the investment community.
• BlackRock reported a quarterly earnings per share of $12.05, surpassing analysts' expectations and reflecting a 12.9% year-over-year revenue increase.

Truist Financial Corp lifted its position in BlackRock (NYSE:BLK - Free Report) by 1.4% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 227,334 shares of the asset manager's stock after buying an additional 3,080 shares during the quarter. Truist Financial Corp owned approximately 0.15% of BlackRock worth $238,529,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Garde Capital Inc. raised its holdings in shares of BlackRock by 200.0% in the 2nd quarter. Garde Capital Inc. now owns 27 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 18 shares during the period. Fairway Wealth LLC increased its holdings in BlackRock by 76.5% during the 1st quarter. Fairway Wealth LLC now owns 30 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 13 shares during the period. Game Plan Financial Advisors LLC increased its holdings in BlackRock by 100.0% during the 1st quarter. Game Plan Financial Advisors LLC now owns 30 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 15 shares during the period. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in BlackRock during the 1st quarter worth about $31,000. Finally, Cheviot Value Management LLC purchased a new stake in BlackRock during the 1st quarter worth about $30,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.69% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have weighed in on BLK. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a "buy" rating and set a $1,115.00 price target on shares of BlackRock in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. Evercore ISI upped their price target on BlackRock from $1,170.00 to $1,200.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, September 5th. Zacks Research downgraded BlackRock from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, August 14th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price target on BlackRock from $1,247.00 to $1,224.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 16th. Finally, UBS Group reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and set a $980.00 price objective on shares of BlackRock in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Twelve 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 a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $1,171.93.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other BlackRock news, Director Rachel Lord sold 18,036 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 25th. The stock was 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 trade represents a 48.43% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director J. Richard Kushel sold 17,142 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,120.50, for a total value of $19,207,611.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 61,369 shares of the company's stock, valued at $68,763,964.50. The trade was a 21.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 66,494 shares of company stock valued at $74,694,573 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 1.98% of the company's stock.

BlackRock Stock Down 0.8%

Shares of NYSE BLK opened at $1,166.35 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $180.61 billion, a PE ratio of 28.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.25 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 has a 52-week low of $773.74 and a 52-week high of $1,183.50. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $1,127.65 and a 200 day moving average price of $1,024.07.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, July 15th. The asset manager reported $12.05 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $10.41 by $1.64. The firm had revenue of $5.42 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $5.40 billion. BlackRock had a return on equity of 15.53% and a net margin of 29.68%.The business's revenue was up 12.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $10.36 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that BlackRock will post 47.41 earnings per share for the current year.

BlackRock Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 23rd. Investors of record on Friday, September 5th were given a $5.21 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, September 5th. This represents a $20.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.8%. BlackRock's dividend payout ratio is 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.

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