Venturi Wealth Management LLC Purchases 239 Shares of BlackRock $BLK

Key Points

• Venturi Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in BlackRock by 13.9% during Q2, acquiring 239 additional shares, bringing their total holdings to 1,959 shares valued at approximately $2,056,000.
• BlackRock reported a robust earnings per share of $12.05 for the recent quarter, significantly exceeding analyst estimates of $10.41, along with a year-over-year revenue increase of 12.9% to $5.42 billion.
• BlackRock announced a quarterly dividend of $5.21 per share, reflecting an annualized payout of $20.84, which indicates a dividend yield of 1.8% and a payout ratio of 50.39%.

Venturi Wealth Management LLC grew its position in shares of BlackRock (NYSE:BLK - Free Report) by 13.9% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,959 shares of the asset manager's stock after purchasing an additional 239 shares during the period. Venturi Wealth Management LLC's holdings in BlackRock were worth $2,056,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in BLK. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its stake in shares of BlackRock by 23.1% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 1,575 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $1,615,000 after acquiring an additional 296 shares during the last quarter. Bison Wealth LLC lifted its stake in shares of BlackRock by 1.6% in the 4th quarter. Bison Wealth LLC now owns 1,052 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $1,078,000 after acquiring an additional 17 shares during the last quarter. Capital Investment Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of BlackRock by 3.4% in the 1st quarter. Capital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,506 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $1,426,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. Moss Adams Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of BlackRock by 23.2% in the 1st quarter. Moss Adams Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 420 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $398,000 after acquiring an additional 79 shares during the last quarter. Finally, City Holding Co. lifted its stake in shares of BlackRock by 35.1% in the 1st quarter. City Holding Co. now owns 77 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $73,000 after acquiring an additional 20 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.69% of the company's stock.

BlackRock Stock Down 1.0%

BLK stock opened at $1,166.90 on Wednesday. BlackRock has a fifty-two week low of $773.74 and a fifty-two week high of $1,184.13. The business's 50 day moving average price is $1,131.84 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $1,031.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a quick ratio of 4.04 and a current ratio of 4.04. The company has a market capitalization of $180.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 1.45.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, July 15th. The asset manager reported $12.05 earnings per share 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.40 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $10.36 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 12.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts forecast that BlackRock will post 47.41 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

BlackRock Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 23rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 5th were issued a dividend of $5.21 per share. The ex-dividend date 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%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Fabrizio Freda sold 4,434 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,122.81, for a total transaction of $4,978,539.54. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 3,506 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,936,571.86. This trade represents a 55.84% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, 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 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 66,494 shares of company stock worth $74,694,573 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 1.98% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on BlackRock from $959.00 to $1,210.00 in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price target on BlackRock from $1,247.00 to $1,224.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 16th. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on BlackRock from $1,224.00 to $1,362.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday. Evercore ISI upped their price target on BlackRock from $1,170.00 to $1,200.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, September 5th. Finally, UBS Group reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and set a $980.00 price target on shares of BlackRock in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, BlackRock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $1,222.87.

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.

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