Columbia Asset Management Has $1.07 Million Stock Holdings in BlackRock $BLK

Columbia Asset Management cut its position in shares of BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) by 9.9% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,024 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 113 shares during the period. Columbia Asset Management’s holdings in BlackRock were worth $1,074,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Fairway Wealth LLC increased its stake in shares of BlackRock by 76.5% during the 1st quarter. Fairway Wealth LLC now owns 30 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 13 shares during the last quarter. Game Plan Financial Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of BlackRock by 100.0% during the 1st quarter. Game Plan Financial Advisors LLC now owns 30 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 15 shares during the last quarter. Garde Capital Inc. increased its stake in shares of BlackRock by 200.0% during the 2nd quarter. Garde Capital Inc. now owns 27 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 18 shares during the last quarter. Cheviot Value Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of BlackRock during the 1st quarter worth about $30,000. Finally, MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of BlackRock during the 1st quarter worth about $31,000. 80.69% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently commented on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of BlackRock from $1,180.00 to $1,170.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 16th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on shares of BlackRock from $959.00 to $1,210.00 in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. UBS Group reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $980.00 price target on shares of BlackRock in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Evercore ISI upped their price target on shares of BlackRock from $1,170.00 to $1,200.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, September 5th. Finally, Zacks Research lowered shares of BlackRock from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 14th. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, BlackRock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $1,171.93.

BlackRock Stock Performance

NYSE BLK opened at $1,166.35 on Wednesday. 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 company has a market capitalization of $180.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.20, a P/E/G ratio of 2.25 and a beta of 1.45. BlackRock has a 12-month low of $773.74 and a 12-month high of $1,183.50. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $1,127.65 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $1,024.07.

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

BlackRock Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 23rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 5th were issued a dividend of $5.21 per share. This represents a $20.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, September 5th. BlackRock’s dividend payout ratio is 50.39%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Rachel Lord sold 18,036 shares of the company’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 transaction of $20,301,321.60. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 19,205 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $21,617,148. This represents a 48.43% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director J. Richard Kushel sold 17,142 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,120.50, for a total transaction of $19,207,611.00. Following the sale, 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. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 66,494 shares of company stock worth $74,694,573. Insiders own 1.98% of the company’s stock.

About BlackRock

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.