United Services Automobile Association Purchases New Stake in BlackRock $BLK

Key Points

• United Services Automobile Association has acquired 3,294 shares of BlackRock, valued at approximately $3,118,000, as per its recent 13F filing.
• Multiple analysts have raised BlackRock's price targets, with Jefferies increasing it from $959 to $1,210 and Barclays boosting it from $990 to $1,220, reflecting positive sentiment.
• Insider transactions revealed significant share sales by directors, with J. Richard Kushel selling 17,142 shares worth over $19 million, reducing his ownership by 21.83%.

United Services Automobile Association purchased a new position in shares of BlackRock (NYSE:BLK - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 3,294 shares of the asset manager's stock, valued at approximately $3,118,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in BLK. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in shares of BlackRock by 104,598.9% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 3,500,083 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $3,312,759,000 after buying an additional 3,496,740 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its position in shares of BlackRock by 401.5% in the 4th quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 1,095,241 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $1,122,743,000 after buying an additional 876,836 shares in the last quarter. Royal Bank of Canada boosted its position in shares of BlackRock by 73.2% in the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 1,313,350 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $1,243,059,000 after buying an additional 555,098 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of BlackRock by 2.9% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 13,764,072 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $13,027,419,000 after buying an additional 387,466 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of BlackRock by 32.8% in the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 1,131,919 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $1,071,339,000 after buying an additional 279,336 shares in the last quarter. 80.69% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at BlackRock

In related news, Director Rachel Lord sold 18,036 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,125.60, for a total value of $20,301,321.60. Following the transaction, the director owned 19,205 shares in the company, valued at approximately $21,617,148. This trade represents a 48.43% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Laurence Fink sold 14,828 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,122.28, for a total transaction of $16,641,167.84. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 263,751 shares in the company, valued at $296,002,472.28. The trade was a 5.32% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 66,494 shares of company stock worth $74,694,573. 1.98% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

BlackRock Trading Up 2.9%

Shares of BLK stock traded up $31.83 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $1,134.72. 585,109 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 733,514. The firm has a market cap of $175.71 billion, a PE ratio of 27.44, a PEG ratio of 2.12 and a beta of 1.45. BlackRock has a 1 year low of $773.74 and a 1 year high of $1,171.89. The company has a quick ratio of 4.04, a current ratio of 4.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $1,113.75 and a 200 day moving average of $1,004.60.

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, topping the consensus estimate of $10.41 by $1.64. The business had revenue of $5.42 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.40 billion. BlackRock had a net margin of 29.68% and a return on equity of 15.53%. The company's revenue was up 12.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $10.36 EPS. Analysts expect that BlackRock will post 47.41 earnings per share for the current year.

BlackRock Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 23rd. Investors 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.8%. BlackRock's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 50.39%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of BlackRock from $990.00 to $1,220.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. Bank of America boosted their price objective on shares of BlackRock from $1,214.00 to $1,224.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 16th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on shares of BlackRock from $1,180.00 to $1,170.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 16th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of BlackRock to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, May 24th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group restated a "buy" rating and issued a $1,115.00 target price on shares of BlackRock in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, BlackRock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $1,154.07.

BlackRock 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.