Viking Fund Management LLC Sells 2,000 Shares of BlackRock $BLK

Key Points

• Viking Fund Management LLC reduced its stake in BlackRock by 22.2%, owning 7,000 shares worth approximately $7.35 million after selling 2,000 shares in the second quarter.
• CEO Laurence Fink sold 12,054 shares at an average price of $1,125.43, representing a 4.57% decrease in his position, while the company reported a 12.9% year-over-year increase in quarterly revenue.
• BlackRock declared a quarterly dividend of $5.21 per share, with a payout ratio of 50.39%, scheduled for payment on September 23rd.

Viking Fund Management LLC reduced its stake in shares of BlackRock (NYSE:BLK - Free Report) by 22.2% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 7,000 shares of the asset manager's stock after selling 2,000 shares during the quarter. Viking Fund Management LLC's holdings in BlackRock were worth $7,345,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Securian Asset Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of BlackRock during the 1st quarter valued at about $7,331,000. Prudent Man Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in BlackRock during the 1st quarter worth approximately $2,018,000. Allianz SE increased its holdings in 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 purchasing an additional 277 shares during the last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System purchased a new stake in BlackRock during the 1st quarter worth approximately $40,868,000. Finally, Community Financial Services Group LLC increased its holdings in BlackRock by 17.2% during the 1st quarter. Community Financial Services Group LLC now owns 5,702 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $5,397,000 after purchasing an additional 836 shares during the last quarter. 80.69% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently commented on BLK shares. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $1,115.00 target price on shares of BlackRock in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their target price 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. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on BlackRock from $959.00 to $1,210.00 in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. Barclays lifted their target price on BlackRock from $990.00 to $1,220.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. Finally, Argus reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of BlackRock in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, BlackRock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $1,154.07.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other BlackRock news, Director Rachel Lord sold 18,036 shares of the company's 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 value of $20,301,321.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 19,205 shares of the company's stock, valued at $21,617,148. This represents a 48.43% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director J. Richard Kushel sold 17,142 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,120.50, for a total value of $19,207,611.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 61,369 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $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 quarter. 1.98% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

BlackRock Stock Down 0.1%

Shares of BLK stock traded down $0.97 on Tuesday, reaching $1,135.25. 116,410 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 726,568. BlackRock has a 12-month low of $773.74 and a 12-month high of $1,171.89. 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 $175.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 1.45. The business's 50 day moving average price is $1,120.31 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $1,014.87.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, July 15th. The asset manager reported $12.05 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $10.41 by $1.64. The firm had revenue of $5.42 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.40 billion. BlackRock had a return on equity of 15.53% and a net margin of 29.68%.The business's quarterly revenue was up 12.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $10.36 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that BlackRock will post 47.41 earnings per share for the current year.

BlackRock Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 23rd. Investors of record on Friday, September 5th will be given a dividend of $5.21 per share. This represents a $20.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 5th. BlackRock's payout ratio is currently 50.39%.

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.