Unisphere Establishment Raises Stock Holdings in BlackRock $BLK

Key Points

• Unisphere Establishment increased its stake in BlackRock by 29.2%, acquiring an additional 189,500 shares, bringing its total ownership to 839,500 shares, valued at approximately $794.57 million.
• Several institutional investors also purchased shares of BlackRock, with a notable 76.5% increase in Fairway Wealth LLC's position during the first quarter.
• BlackRock recently announced a quarterly dividend of $5.21 per share, which will be paid on September 23rd, representing an annualized yield of 1.8%.

Unisphere Establishment raised its stake in BlackRock (NYSE:BLK - Free Report) by 29.2% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 839,500 shares of the asset manager's stock after purchasing an additional 189,500 shares during the quarter. BlackRock makes up about 6.9% of Unisphere Establishment's portfolio, making the stock its 5th biggest holding. Unisphere Establishment owned 0.54% of BlackRock worth $794,570,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Securian Asset Management Inc. bought a new position in BlackRock in the first quarter valued at approximately $7,331,000. Prudent Man Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of BlackRock during the 1st quarter worth approximately $2,018,000. Allianz SE boosted its stake in shares of BlackRock by 2.6% during the 1st quarter. Allianz SE now owns 11,025 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $10,435,000 after acquiring an additional 277 shares during the period. Arizona State Retirement System bought a new position in shares of BlackRock during the 1st quarter worth approximately $40,868,000. Finally, Polar Capital Holdings Plc bought a new position in shares of BlackRock during the 4th quarter worth approximately $15,307,000. 80.69% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently commented on BLK. Barclays lifted their target price on BlackRock from $990.00 to $1,220.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on BlackRock from $1,247.00 to $1,224.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 16th. Wall Street Zen raised BlackRock to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, May 24th. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a "buy" rating and set a $1,115.00 price target on shares of BlackRock in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on BlackRock from $1,180.00 to $1,170.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 16th. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, BlackRock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $1,154.07.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Rachel Lord sold 18,036 shares of the business's stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the director owned 19,205 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $21,617,148. The trade was 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 business's stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the director directly owned 61,369 shares of the company's stock, valued at $68,763,964.50. This trade represents a 21.83% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 66,494 shares of company stock worth $74,694,573 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 1.98% of the company's stock.

BlackRock Price Performance

NYSE BLK traded down $9.55 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $1,099.21. The company had a trading volume of 487,573 shares, compared to its average volume of 446,742. The company has a market capitalization of $170.21 billion, a PE ratio of 26.58, a P/E/G ratio of 2.12 and a beta of 1.45. The company has a current ratio of 4.04, a quick ratio of 4.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $1,110.95 and a 200-day moving average price of $1,002.11. BlackRock has a twelve month low of $773.74 and a twelve month high of $1,171.89.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 15th. The asset manager reported $12.05 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 analysts' expectations of $5.40 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $10.36 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up 12.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts anticipate that BlackRock will post 47.41 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

BlackRock Dividend Announcement

The firm 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 of this dividend is Friday, September 5th. This represents a $20.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.9%. BlackRock's 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.