Grandfield & Dodd LLC Sells 26 Shares of BlackRock (NYSE:BLK)

Grandfield & Dodd LLC reduced its holdings in shares of BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) by 7.7% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 312 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 26 shares during the period. Grandfield & Dodd LLC’s holdings in BlackRock were worth $296,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. increased its holdings in BlackRock by 2.1% during the 4th quarter. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. now owns 534 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $542,000 after purchasing an additional 11 shares during the period. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC increased its holdings in BlackRock by 4.5% during the 4th quarter. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC now owns 257 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $263,000 after purchasing an additional 11 shares during the period. Detalus Advisors LLC increased its holdings in BlackRock by 2.8% during the 1st quarter. Detalus Advisors LLC now owns 409 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $387,000 after purchasing an additional 11 shares during the period. Prestige Wealth Management Group LLC increased its holdings in BlackRock by 3.1% during the 4th quarter. Prestige Wealth Management Group LLC now owns 399 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $409,000 after purchasing an additional 12 shares during the period. Finally, Jump Financial LLC increased its holdings in BlackRock by 1.6% during the 4th quarter. Jump Financial LLC now owns 786 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $806,000 after purchasing an additional 12 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 10,000 shares of BlackRock stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $912.50, for a total transaction of $9,125,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 66,034 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $60,256,025. The trade was a 13.15% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Corporate insiders own 1.98% of the company’s stock.

BlackRock Stock Down 5.6%

BlackRock stock opened at $1,048.82 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38, a current ratio of 4.34 and a quick ratio of 4.34. The stock has a market capitalization of $162.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.48, a PEG ratio of 2.24 and a beta of 1.41. BlackRock has a 1-year low of $773.74 and a 1-year high of $1,112.13. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $1,003.13 and a 200-day moving average price of $971.46.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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. The firm had revenue of $5.42 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.40 billion. BlackRock had a return on equity of 15.57% and a net margin of 30.09%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 12.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $10.36 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that BlackRock will post 47.41 EPS for the current fiscal year.

BlackRock Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 23rd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, June 5th were given a dividend of $5.21 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, June 5th. This represents a $20.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.99%. BlackRock’s dividend payout ratio is currently 50.63%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have commented on BLK. UBS Group restated a “neutral” rating and set a $980.00 price objective on shares of BlackRock in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. Barclays raised their price objective on BlackRock from $990.00 to $1,220.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 10th. Citigroup cut their price target on BlackRock from $1,200.00 to $1,100.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 14th. TD Cowen cut their price target on BlackRock from $1,251.00 to $1,032.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reiterated an “overweight” rating on shares of BlackRock in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $1,144.43.

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.