Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC Buys 1,334 Shares of BlackRock $BLK

Key Points

• Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased its holdings in BlackRock by 3.8% during the 2nd quarter, owning 36,383 shares worth $39,372,000 by the end of the quarter.
• CEO Laurence Fink sold 14,828 shares of BlackRock stock, resulting in a 5.32% decrease in his position, while Director Rachel Lord also sold 18,036 shares, marking a 48.43% reduction in her ownership.
• Analysts have raised BlackRock's price target significantly, with Evercore ISI lifting theirs from $1,170 to $1,200 and maintaining an "outperform" rating.

Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC boosted its stake in BlackRock (NYSE:BLK - Free Report) by 3.8% in the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 36,383 shares of the asset manager's stock after purchasing an additional 1,334 shares during the quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC's holdings in BlackRock were worth $39,372,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Strathmore Capital Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of BlackRock during the 2nd quarter worth about $846,000. Mn Services Vermogensbeheer B.V. raised its stake in BlackRock by 0.9% during the 2nd quarter. Mn Services Vermogensbeheer B.V. now owns 54,986 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $57,694,000 after buying an additional 500 shares during the period. Wedmont Private Capital boosted its holdings in BlackRock by 8.4% in the second quarter. Wedmont Private Capital now owns 2,664 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $2,901,000 after acquiring an additional 206 shares in the last quarter. Swedbank AB boosted its holdings in BlackRock by 0.3% in the second quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 86,103 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $90,344,000 after acquiring an additional 225 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd grew its stake in BlackRock by 4.5% in the second quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd now owns 19,717 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $20,688,000 after acquiring an additional 843 shares during the period. 80.69% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other BlackRock news, Director J. Richard Kushel sold 17,142 shares of BlackRock 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 transaction of $19,207,611.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 61,369 shares in the company, valued at $68,763,964.50. The trade was a 21.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Rachel Lord sold 18,036 shares of the company'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 $21,617,148. This trade represents a 48.43% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 66,494 shares of company stock worth $74,694,573. Insiders own 1.98% of the company's stock.

BlackRock Stock Performance

NYSE BLK traded up $5.49 on Tuesday, hitting $1,141.70. 74,491 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 726,300. 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 business's fifty day moving average is $1,120.31 and its two-hundred day moving average is $1,014.87. BlackRock has a 12 month low of $773.74 and a 12 month high of $1,171.89. The firm has a market capitalization of $176.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.60, a PEG ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 1.45.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly 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 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 for the quarter was up 12.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $10.36 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that BlackRock will post 47.41 EPS 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 given a $5.21 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 5th. This represents a $20.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.8%. BlackRock's payout ratio is 50.39%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have weighed in on BLK. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price objective on shares of BlackRock from $1,247.00 to $1,224.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 16th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on BlackRock from $1,247.00 to $1,224.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 16th. Zacks Research lowered BlackRock from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, August 14th. UBS Group reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and set a $980.00 target price on shares of BlackRock in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on BlackRock from $959.00 to $1,210.00 in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price 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.